


Let it Storm

by Achini



Category: INFINITE (Band)
Genre: Comedy, F/M, Filipino Character, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Happy Ending, Idols, Romance, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-15
Updated: 2020-05-15
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:54:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 27,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24196279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Achini/pseuds/Achini
Summary: Of a storm,and slippersand of people in places where they didn’t want to beForewordIn the best days,and the worstIt will always be you
Relationships: Kim Sunggyu/Original Character(s)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by Mel's ridiculous dream.
> 
> This story is set in Manila, Philippines, where Mel is from but I am not so apologies in advance for any inaccuracies and if I've offended you by any chance without my knowledge. I'm truly sorry. And please don't hesitate if there was anything that needs to be changed.
> 
> Your country is a place of beauty and contentment; and one day, when this is all over, I will visit you and see all the wonders I got to see and read from my research while writing this. Meanwhile, I hope you enjoy this humble fiction of mine.

_**Storm warnings**_ came in hours before she had to report to work. By the time she stepped outside, the sky was already an angry grey, the wind strong and cold, an occasional drizzle then and there covering the wind shield. Roads were already congested, hundreds of vehicles, tricycles and motor bicycles cutting through the crowded road in a haste to return home before the heavy gale rolled in. If her circumstances were any different, Belen wouldn’t even be in her car right now. She’d be in her room, with a book in her hand, the sweetness of warm coffee in her breath, and for once loving the dullness around her. But things never worked out in her favour, the world has always been cruel to her, without fail. While the rest of the city was scrambling in these dark hours to make their way back home, Belen Torres was in her car, on her way to the airport on a task she had been given against her will.

Despite being a language major, fluent in several different languages - including Korean, Belen was not the biggest fan of its music. She found it to be quite overrated, and all the people who followed their beloved singers like a religion never failed to irritate her. She had this one friend who made BTS references just to annoy her, had her workstation covered completely in their merchandise; calendars, table decor, dolls, posters, whatnot. Frankly, Belen found it all to be quite childish. At times, her friend couldn’t even find important files and documents in all that clutter and eventually end up dumping it all on her workstation to locate their whereabouts. Her manager, a small, dull man of somewhere past his thirties was apparently what they called a closet fan. Once, at a christmas party of their company, her friend Faye and herself happened to walk into their manager doing a terrible rendition of what she learned from Faye was ‘Twice’s ‘Cheer up’. Belen worked for an event management agency, which also meant that she would eventually have to tackle situations related to Kpop whether she liked it or not. And her being fluent in Korean never actually worked in her favor. 

A few weeks ago, her company took over the responsibility of a fan meeting of a group called Infinite. Belen didn’t know who they were, regardless of Faye’s excited cheers which disrupted the decorum of their meeting. If she had the choice, she wouldn’t have bothered to know either. But on the day of the meeting, despite Faye’s abundance of knowledge on Boy-group trivia, they were forced to listen to three fourth an hour of a lecture about them. Apparently it was a boy group which was quite famous in their country and had actually had a few concerts in Manila as well. ‘I’d been to their world tour concerts here”, Faye told everyone in the meeting, proudly as if she were speaking of walking on the moon. “And they’re brilliant. Especially the leader, I am sure he’d stolen my heart”

There were seven of them, as if one was not a handful to handle. Fortunately for them, not all would arrive in the country at once.

“All of them have different schedules, so they’d be arriving in groups, pairs or ones. We haven’t got their flight schedules yet” Their manager informed them. He was none too excited about their arrival, and Belen was sure he did this for the money that flowed in. She expected he’d be a lot happier if it was a bunch of girls and would have been secretly excited as Faye was throughout the meeting.

Things were going well for the most part. Venues were booked, hotels were prepared, the marketing team did quite an impressive job with banners and posters littering all the subway stations. Belen herself had a good time being as un-involved as she could. They were the administration, which was all about booking places and handling ticketing and all that. She was responsible for their arrival and flight schedules, which meant that she’d be less busy up to the point of their arrival.

“I can’t believe that you get to see them up close and not me” Faye complained one afternoon during lunch. She sounded like she was joking, but her expression certainly said otherwise. “Only the wrong people get lucky, not fair” She grumpily poked at her rice with her fork, not meeting her eyes.

“That’s only because I’m not crazy about them like you” Belen returned non-committedly. She’d seen the boys in banners and posters and on the web. They were just a bunch of tall lanky guys who looked like they walked two feet above the ground. She wasn’t remotely interested in them and only took over the task as that’s what she was allocated for. 

“I don’t get what’s so special about them” Belen said and swallowed a mouthful. “They’re just...men”

And Faye knew how Belen felt about men. After a couple of ill fated relationships, she’d begun to steer clear of them. They were all the same, she believed. And being famous and good looking only made their egos worse.

“Just men?” Faye gasped. “Just men? Belen, only the best men in the world!”

Belen rolled her eyes. “I thought you only liked these BTS kids”

“I do like them,” Faye shrugged. “But I am a multi”

“What’s a multi?” Belen asked, for the lack of better things to say. It wasn’t that she was actually interested. But Faye didn’t really get the hint of boredom in her tone.

“Multi is a person who followed more than one group” She most diligently explained. “You see, my ultimate group is BTS and my ultimate bias is Junkook. But I also like Infinite. And Day6 and Ikon and Stray kids and Got7 and…”

Belen stopped following somewhere at that point; she listened, or pretended to listen just for the sake of it while in reality in her mind she was just considering her evening plans. She just didn’t get why these girls were so infatuated by these idols. She supposed it was a completely different culture that she probably would never understand.

Belen tried to be as uninvolved as possible, watching the madness from the sidelines. It wasn’t the first time that their company handled a major kpop group event. There were a bunch of others but Faye or anybody else in the company didn’t go as crazy as they were going for this group. Belen had asked Faye about it at some point, just casually slipping the question into one of their post-lunch conversations. Apparently it was because Infinite was the first biggest pitch they've ever handled while the other groups that the company had represented before were much smaller and less known.

“How is that different?” Belen had asked her at some point, to which Faye responded by looking at her as if she’d grown two heads. “Very, very different” She eventually told her. “You’d see”

Belen, frankly, had not wanted to ‘See’. If anything, she’d very much like to ‘not see’ if she could spare herself from witnessing this madness. But no matter how much she’d been wishful thinking, Belen kept being dragged deeper and deeper into the predicament.

It was a week before their arrival that their manager called her in and very dully, uninterestedly informed her that there’d been changes to their flight schedules.

“So, some of them will arrive on Saturday morning while the rest will arrive in the evening, the same day” The manager continued as Belen dismally stared at the sheaf of papers in her hands. “There is one member, however, who will be arriving on friday. He’d be coming from Taiwan as he’s having different schedules there. So you’d have to look into that”

Belen was none too happy that she’d have to face them not all at once but at three different times on two different days. She’d been meaning to just send them their vans and send them off to their respective hotels without really having to personally interact with them. It was just her job, Belen would constantly remind herself as a form of motivation. She was just doing her job and there was no reason why she needed to get agitated over their heightened egos.

But things only seemed to get worse as the day grew nearer. Just a day before the arrival of that one member, perhaps just a few hours before the exact time of the arrival, her manager called her up on her phone. She was off work and was in a shower, the entire room filled with the scent of burning cinnamon candles and essential oil, basking in a few hours of solitary comfort in her busy working life. It was as if her job just couldn’t afford to give her a few hours of peace.

“Belen” told her boss over the phone, and she had to turn the shower down to hear him better.

“Sir” She replied.

“There’s a problem,” He said.

If there was one thing she hated more than hearing a ‘kpop event’ from her manager, it was that they had a problem. Nothing good could come out of either of them with both having equally devastating possibilities.

“Yes sir” Belen sighed.

“That one member who’s scheduled to come on friday…”

Nothing worked out in her favor, that was for sure. Belen had always wondered if her stars were lined up in a way that all the bad things kept happening to her. If it was Faye who’d been given this task, she was certain, she’d be over the moon. But Belen, frankly, couldn’t despise this more. If anything, one more mishap in this entire ordeal could possibly send her spiraling down to the point where she’d consider changing her career for once and for all. 

Like this, Belen found herself in a place and a moment where she did not want to be. Belen hated crowded places, Belen despised the rain. She equally hated kpop idols and now she was in the most unlikely situation of a combination of all three, driving through an impending storm to stand in the crowded airport with a board in her hands, welcoming a possibly deranged kpop idol into her land. 

Belen, as it happened, had no idea what kim Sung Gyu looked like. She even had trouble correctly pronouncing his name as Faye made her say it without even her having seen the syllables which it was written with. She’d seen the pictures, and she did know he was the oldest of them all, but she’d forgotten his face by the time she'd swarmed inside through the crowd.

Inside the airport it was pandemonium. Due to the storm, flights were being delayed, some were being canceled, and those who were unwillingly stranded in the airport weren’t too happy despite the circumstances. There were hundreds of deranged passengers at the arrivals terminal, unable to find transport out to the city as most modes of transport were cancelled due to the storm. Airport hotels and nearby guest houses took advantage of the situation as well as the taxi drivers, asking for large amounts, claiming that they were putting their lives at risk. Belen, at that point, was exhausted. The storm had started to grow in multitudes outside, which also meant that it would be almost impossible to drive back through it. Staying at the airport, of course, was not an option.

Only if this idol guy came through early.

Things couldn’t be worse for Kim Sung Gyu either. Usually the idols were accompanied by their own managers who would be partaking the journey all from their homeland to here along with them. For Kim Sung Gyu, however, things have turned out to be the worst. His manager who travelled to Taiwan with him had apparently succumbed into a terrible allergy reaction which caused him to stay back to attend to his treatments, and in turn, Kim Sung Gyu had to travel alone where he would meet another manager who’d take over from Manila itself. Unfortunately for him, most flights coming in from incheon were cancelled for the day due to the storm, which also meant that he would be left to fend for himself.

And that was where an equally deranged Belen came in.

“You would play the part of his manager for the day” her own manager had told her while she was on her way to the airport. Belen had expected the situation to be different when she’d received the call the previous night. But things seemed to get worse and worse every minute. “He would be a little upset, what with the unexpected turn of events so you might have to tolerate for a while” 

Belen simply didn’t think she had the sheer patience to tolerate an angry idol and his hissy little fits. Like said earlier, men pissed her off, idols made her even madder; a combination of both could only make her livid.

She was going to be given a hefty bonus for doing this, she was told at the end of that call. She was taking a risk, driving in the storm, taking care of an idol which should otherwise be the idol’s company’s responsibility. Belen would do it, without a doubt. She would do it, solely for that money.

Belen’s been standing in the waiting area for nearly an hour as the storm outside took its full form. It was so strong that the sound of loud thunders echoed in the vast airport itself, possibly rattling the glass panels. If the situation was bad enough, it wasn’t helping that Belen was terrified of lightning. Everyone had at least one fear in their life, they said. Faye’s was the possibility of finding out that Junkook had a girlfriend, her Manager’s was his twice obsession being outed. Belen’s, unfortunately for her was the loud rumble of crashing thunder. It took her years back into her dark past; of a relentless cloudburst, of thunder, of empty roads lined by tall, ghostly trees, of cries, of screams and raging fires. She couldn’t tell that to her manager, of course, that she feared the thunder, that she feared lightening. How could she? What good could come out of it? He’d probably think she was a weeny and spread it all over the office until it became a sensation.

It took about an hour and twenty more minutes before Kim Sung Gyu finally showed signs of coming out. She didn’t see him, of course, only because she didn’t know what he looked like. It was only because passengers of that particular flight were finally swarming out, hurried on their feet, their luggage in tow. Belen finally willed herself to climb up on her feet and held her pristine board with his name written in Korean and in bold, high above her head. Belen wasn’t exactly tall in person, she could only hope he could see her in the hectic crowd.

A while later, she noticed the tall, disconcerted man, slowly making his way in her direction. There were a large number of people that she recognised as Korean, but this particular person’s expensive fashion undeniably stood out. Working in this industry made it feasible for her to recognise lavish taste, and that’s exactly what Kim Sung Gyu seemed to have.

In his oversized T-shirt and baggy jeans, his eyes in the shadow of his cap and a facemask, all in black, Kim Sung Gyu stood out from the rest. He looked lost completely, like a child in a large supermarket searching for their mother. He stood in the middle, his trolley laden with bags before him, no care to the other passengers struggling to pass through. He was searching for someone who’d be of a saving grace in a time that no struggle could match to being stranded in an unknown place on their own. Belen could only let out a heavy sigh. This is how spoilt rich kids behaved. They always wanted someone to depend on. She lifted the board as high as she could and started to wave it with a little dance. There was no way that he’d notice her otherwise.

And thankfully, he did. Kim Sung Gyu walked like he put all his weight to the world as he made his way towards her. He was a lot taller than she imagined. If it was that she was just short, she couldn’t tell. She barely reached his shoulders. She bet he had lifts in his expensive shoes.

Belen finally dropped her board and let out a sigh. “Kim Sung Gyu-Ssi?” It was no struggle to bring out her near-perfect korean.

“I am” He replied, his voice muffled behind the mask.

Belen shifted the board from one hand to the other and balanced it by her feet. Then she lifted one for a handshake. “I’m Belen, Belen Torres”

Sung Gyu glanced down at her hand, then looked at her. He didn’t take it, the nerve. 

“Good to meet you,” He said.

Belen didn’t think either of them had given out a good first impression. It’s only been a minute, but she already despised him. 

“Well then” She said, shifting on her feet. “Shall we get going?”

He nodded and followed her en suite.

  


“I heard about what happened,” Belen told him as the two hurried through the swarm of the crowd. She wasn’t remotely interested in having a conversation with him but she had to do what she should do, which was making him feel comfortable in a difficult situation. “I’m sorry to hear about that” She glanced up at him beside her. “Things aren’t great over here today”

Sung Gyu merely nodded in response.

They were quiet for the longest time afterwards, even as they exited the crowded airport and stood under the shed facing the heavy storm rolling in before them. The sky was an angry dark grey, wind howling and walls rattling as rain crashed in the opposite direction. They were still soaked in the drizzle and Sung Gyu instinctively pulled his hoodie over his head.

“You’d have to wait here” Belen yelled at him over the howling wind. “I’ll get the car and come”

Even the thought of walking through the storm terrified her. There was no point trying to hold an umbrella in this weather, it would simply fly off her grip in a mangled mess, so she had to opt for a raincoat which still did no good. Thunder rumbled on like massive growling monsters; myriad times did lightning make her stop in her tracks. Her hands were shaking and she was in a haze by the time she drove the car back to the arrivals gate. If it was out of fear or by the cold, she couldn’t tell.

Sung Gyu cooperated by loading his own bags to the trunk while she waited. She hadn’t the sheer capacity to step out into the storm again. She had to drive, and for that, she had to keep sane. Would she spend any longer out in the rain, she could swear she’d collapse.

She felt bad to have let him do it all on his own, but Sung Gyu did not complain. He only had a little black pouch in his hands as he climbed into the front seat; quiet but completely drenched. Belen turned on the heater as he was certainly shivering as herself. Without a word, then, she drove off. She had to hold off the conversations until they had both warmed down.

Belen couldn’t see much from her direction, but Sung Gyu had finally taken off his cap and his mask and she could actually see a bit of his face. She recognised him now; at least to the point of giving a face to the name she knew. He was a lot paler than she thought, but his complexion was actually quite nice. What clearly did stand out however, was his wisp of silvery white blonde hair. Belen had always known them idols to sport all sorts of ridiculous hair colors; she’d seen kids with rainbows and unicorn manes for hair on their heads. But she hadn’t expected that from the oldest member of Infinite.

His hair was slightly damp, and when he ran his hand through it, he looked kind of nice.

Belen cleared her throat and focused more on the road. She didn’t realise that she was actually driving like 20 kilometers per hour. 

“Kim Sung Gyu-Ssi” She addressed him, finally interrupting the silence between them. “As the highway is closed because of the storm, we wouldn’t be able to make it to the city centre. Until it dies down, I’m afraid we’d have to look into alternative accommodation”

Sung Gyu let out a heavy sigh and rested his arm on the door. “But isn’t the hotel already booked?”

“It is” Belen nodded. “But for tonight, we would stay somewhere nearby” She said this trying not to show her spite. Belen couldn’t believe how deep she’d been dragged into this mess.

“We?” Sung Gyu easily caught the highlight of her statement.

“I won’t be able to go to the city myself” She said, gripping the wheel tightly in response.

Sung Gyu nodded, turned away, gave it a few seconds before turning back to her. “My manager wouldn’t be here until later tomorrow,” He said.

“So I heard” She pleasantly replied.

“I was told I’d be with someone from your company meanwhile” He continued and scrutinized her with his sharp eyes which she could physically feel upon herself. “Would it be you?”

“I’m afraid so” She sighed. Belen knew that she absolutely wasn’t doing this right. She’d been blatant with how displeased she was all from the beginning. She simply wasn’t made for this job. Perhaps it's time that she changed her profession. 

Sung Gyu just hummed, turning away, and soon he retreated into his own shell as he pulled his phone out, listening to music and dozing off. Belen couldn’t have expected more from him. What would he do? What would any man do in this situation? Make small talks? Build rapport? Make friends with her? She supposed they should have sent Faye instead. At least she’d have had a good time taking sneaky glances and internally squealing the whole time.

Belen stopped at the exact place as per her manager’s instructions, a classy five star airport hotel, fully equipped with a supermarket, a cafe and a pool and whatnot, exactly what somebody his level would expect. It wasn’t that far off from the airport itself but it had taken her ages to merely drive through the storm. By then, Kim Sung Gyu was soundly asleep, his face stern even in his sleep. He gave an authoritative aura, undoubtedly. Conceited, level headed; it was evident from the beginning that they’d never get along.

“Kim Sung Gyu-Ssi, we’re here” She told him.

He grunted, didn’t blink an eye but stayed the same. She bet he’d had a long day. She bet he was jet lagged as well. But Belen was tired too. With a groan, she pulled on her raincoat and finally climbed out of the car. Wind was howling like a beast by then, and she could hear the sky wailing in a ghostly cry. It was by this that Sung Gyu finally scrambled up from his sleep. 

“SungGyu-Ssi, we are here” Belen yelled over the noise, to which he nodded almost dazedly.

The two had to shrink into themselves as they walked the gravelly path towards the hotel lobby. It was already quite crowded with a number of desolate passengers trying to find shelter for the night. She couldn’t be thankful enough to her manager who had booked their rooms beforehand. 

“Wait here” She told Sung Gyu who had followed after her and was now drenched head to toe. She felt quite bad for him, having returned from abroad just about two hours ago and having to go through all of this. He could rest until late afterwards, have a nice shower, a warm cup of tea. But for now, he had to wait.

He nodded, sat down on one of the plush sofas, his face covered in his mask and silver hair hidden underneath the cap and his hoodie. He was probably afraid, being seen in the crowd. He was a celebrity after all. But everyone else was pretty busy trying to get themselves a room than to notice a celebrity among them.

Belen had no choice but cut in through the crowd to get her work done. People protested loudly, yelled at her to stay on the line, but she couldn’t care less. She went to the reception as soon as a couple got their keys and moved away. Then she slammed her hand down on the wooden counter to stop the angered customers behind from pushing her away. 

“Good evening ma'am, how can I help you?” The receptionist spoke pleasantly despite the difficult situation before him. 

“We’ve made a booking for two people for tonight” She gasped.

“Lovely” The receptionist turned to the screen. “Under which name is it?”

“Torres. Belen Torres” She was pretty sure that’s what her manager had registered them in. 

“Torres...Torres…” The Receptionist muttered under his breath as he typed into the computer. There was a minute of silence, then he lifted his head, looking up at her. “There is no booking under that name, m’am” He said.

“Uh…” She raked her brain, trying to recall what her manager had told her. That was what he told her, that he’d be booking under her name. 

“Can you...can you check again?”

He made a show of checking the records again and shook his head. “No ma’am…” He informed her with a smile. “Perhaps we can check with the social security number”

Belen recited the social security number to him, which did no good either. Panicking slightly, she tried again. She told him her manager’s name. Her manager could be a little obtuse now and then, to the point of registering her under his name. But to no avail, there were no records. She felt cold sweats under her collar. If there was no pre-booking, then they’d have to wait in the line to get a room, and there was no way that the hotel had enough room to occupy the entire waiting crowd.

“Wait, lets try one more time”

This once, she tried Sung Gyu’s name and passport number. Much to her chagrin, neither worked. Her mind was completely blank by then; there was nothing more they could try. If none of their names were in, then that only meant one thing; her manager had not booked them in.

So she did what she had to do at that moment. She excused herself from the reception, pulled herself through the angry patrons waiting for their turn and finally approached Sung Gyu who was on the verge of dozing off on the sofa seat. She then called her Manager’s number.

He picked up after the seventh ring.

“Torres. Did you pick him up?” Was the first thing he asked.

“Yes” She sighed. “But we have a problem”

With a single breath, as quickly as she could, Belen recited the predicament that they were in.

“There is no booking?” Repeated her boss Incredulously. “But that’s impossible? I asked Faye do it for you”

“Faye did?” She echoed, her head about to burst. He couldn’t have asked a worse person to do something as important. She gripped her phone harder and ran a hand through her damp hair. “Can you check? Because Sir, I have Kim Sung Gyu here and he’s really tired, he needs to rest”

“I will” her manager replied almost determinedly. “Meanwhile, keep him on check”

And that’s what Belen did while she waited for him to get back to her. She sat next to an extremely tired Kim Sung Gyu and waited, keeping him in check.

“What’s wrong?” He asked her patiently yet politely for someone who’s stranded in an unknown place. 

“There’s something wrong with the booking, I’m sorry” Belen replied. She expected him to get mad at her, yell at her angrily for not settling things before his arrival. But he didn’t. Perhaps he was too tired for that as he just fell quiet and sat still for the longest time, his head in his hands.

Her manager called back after a while.

“I’m sorry there seems to be a miscommunication, I think” He told her, answering her worst fear. “Faye had thought I’d told her I would book whereas what I really told her was-,”

“Wait” Belen cut in tiredly. “Is it booked or not?” 

There was a beat of silence before he let out a heavy sigh. “It’s not,” he said.

“Nice” Belen managed in response. She’d thought things couldn’t get any worse, but she couldn’t have been more wrong. Her stars were really out to get her, lining up to bring only bad luck. “Great, brilliant, excellent”

“Torres, they still might have rooms available-,”

“I will see'' She grunted, looking at the gathered crowd. There was no point in arguing with him, and frankly, she was too tired to do so. She glanced over at Sung Gyu who looked at her, appearing bored before he looked away. She cut off the line and ran both her hands through her damp hair. These are the kind of moments that she hated the most. Belen was naturally organized, well-planned with almost everything that she did. She hated travelling without itineraries, she hated people who traveled without itineraries. She also hated not pre booking concert tickets and hotel rooms; and now she’d gotten stuck in the exact thing that she despised.

And she wasn’t even in it on her own.

“Wait, let me check” She told much to herself as Kim Sung Gyu was hardly listening and went back to the reception. She spent five to ten minutes there, fighting with fellow patrons and the people in reception up to the point where it became a full fledged argument. Soon everyone was yelling, the reception was smiling although they were equally mad while she was completely hysteric. There were no more rooms available in the hotel.

“But it's a huge hotel!” Was her argument. “What do you mean you don’t have rooms!?!”

“All our rooms are booked in ma’am” The receptionist replied as pleasantly as he could. “As you can see, everyone’s looking for rooms because of the storm”

She was about to yell something in return, gathering all her strength when she felt a hand on her arm.

“It’s fine” Said Sung Gyu behind her, his voice muffled by the mask. “Let’s just leave”


	2. Chapter 2

_**After a while**_ , they found themselves yet again struggling to walk through the rain towards their parked car. There were many more parked behind theirs, parked without care to the other passengers. But Belen was left with no choice. She was tired, she was livid. She didn’t think twice before she drove over a bunch of decorative rocks and bushes, destroying the hotel’s lavish garden against securities’ protest. And soon, they were back on the road, driving through the rain. 

“I’m sorry” Belen told him, no preamble, and certainly no remorse. “This shouldn’t have happened”

“Is fine” He replied although the tone of his voice meant otherwise. “It’s not your fault”

One thing that Belen had learned from her nearly thirty years of life experience was that nobody who told that it wasn’t their fault upon being apologised to, actually didn’t mean it. Most of the time when they said that it wasn’t their fault, what was implied was that it actually was. 

She gripped her hands tighter on the steering wheel and peered through the crashing rain, her eyes narrowed against the flashing lights.

“It kind of is,” She admitted honestly. She was too tired to beat around the bush, and quite frankly, having spent nearly two hours in his presence, the fact that he was a world renowned celebrity had left her mind. Right now, Kim Sung Gyu was her burden and her responsibility.

Sung Gyu remained silent, staring ahead as the air around them seemed to grow thicker. Things weren’t going well between them.

“This wasn’t how it was planned,” Belen continued when she couldn’t take it anymore. “We had a nice cozy hotel booked for you in the city centre and vehicles and everything as your company asked for. But we didn’t know about the storm, you see? It had us short staffed, our plans ruined-,”

“I understand” Kim Sung Gyu quietly replied. 

Belen sighed heavily as she stared ahead. She was not convinced. Usually, idols of his type would have pent up frustration which they would later vent at the management, implying that it was always their fault. It wasn’t the fault of the idol’s company who hadn’t planned well, it wasn’t even the event management agency’s fault at the end of the day. It would ultimately become their fault, the measly staff who go out of their way to make them comfortable, yet to shoulder all the blame.

Belen was not about to take it, She would settle things for once and for all.

“I’m really sorry it didn’t go as planned, Sung Gyu-Ssi” She went on, finding her composure to remain professional, polite. “I’m really sorry for the inconvenience”

Sung Gyu let out a heavy sigh. “It is really fine”

Belen licked her lips and closed her eyes. Lightning struck hard in the dark blue sky before her. It was still barely past six, but the weather was nothing but a grim and angered beast. 

“We will take full responsibility,” She said again. She just didn’t feel right, he wasn’t fine and he was showing it. “We will pay for your accommodation tonight and perhaps give a-,”

“Manager-nim” Sung Gyu suddenly cut in, his voice tired but stern, and she quietened, surprised to be addressed by him for the first time. His eyes were cold and distant when they met hers. “It's really fine. What happened, happened. Right now I’m really tired, and I want to rest. So if we could please find a place to stay tonight that would be great”

“B-but…” Belen opened her mouth to respond, but when he ignored her and pulled out his phone, his concentration now nowhere near her, she realised that their conversation had ended. She stared at him for a second in complete disbelief. She never thought someone could be equally polite and rude and pompous at the same time. But Kim Sung Gyu was showing her things that she didn’t believe to exist.

  


In the end, they drove in silence for the longest time, Belen busy trying to find a hotel nearby and Sung Gyu seemingly lost in his own world. He was a strange person, Kim Sung Gyu. He was nothing like she thought he was. He was a lot more human than she thought, with little words and keeping more to himself, which, for the most part made his presence endearing. Their silence wasn’t exactly uncomfortable, but when she thought of how she couldn’t imagine what was running through his mind, her anxiety grew in multitudes. He must be cursing her in his brain for all she knew.

She contacted her manager over the phone a few times, but in search of accomodation, his support was of no use. They stopped at yet another hotel and this time she left him in the car with air conditioning turned on while she went in and checked by herself. Unfortunately for them, it was, yet again, all booked in. They checked another, and then another. At some point, Sung Gyu tiredly and very much humanly suggested that they could book an airbnb.

“Don’t worry about the cost, it's just one night” He told her rather groggily, and much to her astonishment, she could see that he too was searching on his own phone. She didn’t expect that. She’d thought he’d leave it in her responsibility and blame her incompetence in the end.

“Airbnb?” Belen echoed incredulously. As much as it sounded a plausible choice, would their respective agencies hear about it, she’d be in a lot of trouble. “No, no no no. Not an option”

“Why not?” He groaned sleepily. And she was surprised by how he could still sound polite and speak formally even in that state. 

She glanced at him only for a second and shook her head. “Because this is a professional engagement, SungGyu-Ssi. It wouldn’t be right”

“T’s fine” He continued, his voice now so low as if he was about to drift off to sleep. “I won’t tell anyone”

“I’m sure you wouldn’t” Belen had no choice but to agree. “But I still have to report to my manager and I’d lose my job”

It wasn’t until they checked two more hotels that they decided to reduce the quality of their search. There weren’t many hotels in this area, and certainly most airport hotels were booked in. That left them with just a few choices which included, and was limited to; hostels and rented apartments.

Belen stopped the car on the side of the road to recollect herself. The storm had reduced only the slightest that the rain had ceased, leaving a heavy wind and thunder to compensate. She buried her face in both her hands and tried to think.

“If we stayed in a hostel, they’d murder me, if we stayed in an apartment they’d murder me and if we try to drive to the city, we’d be killed” She muttered to herself while Sung Gyu silently watched her having a mental breakdown. It probably wasn’t the finest sight to see, her dampened brown locks entangled in her hands and make-up probably smudged all over her face. Sung Gyu probably wouldn’t even consider returning to Manila again.

“Hostel or apartment is fine” He put in, all of a sudden; perhaps tired of putting up with her grumbling. Belen lifted her head and looked up at him.

“How so?”

“I wouldn’t tell anyone,” He shrugged.

Belen stared at him only to see if he was playing with her. She expected him to exclaim that he was kidding and that he’d sue her wouldn’t she find him a better place the very instance; but it never came. Instead, he just stared back at her, his small eyes drooping and his slightly wet blonde locks catching the light coming from the road.

“What if you did?” She asked him.

He just shook his head.

“How can you be so sure, SungGyu-Ssi?”

He shrugged. “I’m tired. I just want to sleep” 

Belen thought about it, long and hard, her mind in a whirlwind. There was no point driving around if all hotels were going to be fully booked and if the highway wouldn’t open until morning next day. They were both tired, and the storm showed no signs of ceasing. He was right, if they hadn’t a choice, they’d have to take what was left.

“Fine” She sighed, finally straightening up on her seat. “We’ll take a hostel or an apartment, but we wouldn’t tell anyone”

Sung Gyu nodded tiredly.

Belen moved slightly closer. “We won’t tell anyone. This is going to be our secret, and we’d take it to our grave”

Sung Gyu nodded again, and when he glanced at her, for the very first time, she witnessed a ghost of a smile on his lips. Belen was baffled. He could actually smile, and he looked quite nice when he did.

“Agreed” He told her in response.

  


Eventually, Belen drove them to the first and the foremost Hostel that they could find. It wasn’t the best, yet it certainly wasn’t the worst. It's linoleum floors and modern upholstery appeared quite welcoming, so did all the visitor notices printed in cheerful wording and fun, funky colors. Behind the counter stood a pleasant young man in a T-shirt and jeans, a warm smile on his lips despite the difficult times.

Both Belen and Sung Gyu entered together, Sung Gyu as cautious as always, afraid to be found out. Thankfully for them, the lobby and the entranceway was devoid of people, save for the reception.

“Welcome!” the young man in the reception greeted them. “How can I help you?”

Belen glanced at Sung Gyu for support who blankly stood behind her. She supposed that his managers did everything for him; how burdensome.

“We just want to stay for the night...because of the storm” She explained. “What do you have available?”

After their hours of search, Belen realised that there was no point trying to find what they desired yet settle for the least.

The receptionist quickly skimmed through his options. “Well, we’re mostly occupied tonight...because of the storm. All our private room options are taken, and what we have left are four person mixed dormitories and six person mixed dormitories”

Belen did not like the sound of mixed dormitories. But given the time and circumstances, she wouldn’t have a choice either. So she decided to take input from the star of the night.

“They only have dormitories left” She hissed at him. “Four person and six person mixed”

Sung gyu didn’t take time before he responded. “I can’t share the room with a stranger”

Belen scowled. “I thought you were fine with hostels”

“I am” He sighed. “But I can't stay in the same room with somebody I don’t know. What if they recognised me?”

He had a very good point.

“Then what do we do?”

“They don’t have private rooms?”

She shook her head. “None”

Sung Gyu lowered his head as he contemplated his options. Belen did so on her own, and the only option that she could think of was selfishly booking one whole dormitory for him so he wouldn’t share and booking a single bed of another for herself.

But Sung Gyu certainly had better ideas in his mind. 

“Right,” he said after a while. “We don’t have much choice. Let’s take a four bedroom dorm”

“And? You said you didn’t want to share” She prompted on as it was evident he wasn’t done with his plan.

He looked at her and met her eyes. “You can share the room with me”

Belen widened her eyes. “What?”

“We could book a four bedroom dormitory-,”

“I got that part” Belen said, lifting her hand. “But you said that you didn’t want to share the room with a stranger”

“Because I didn’t want to be recognised” He cleared it out for her. “But you already know me”

“But-,” She argued in return. “How is it a good idea?”

“So we could book the whole dormitory for ourselves and nobody else could book another bed in the room” he explained.

Belen could only stare at him in response. He didn’t feel like a Kpop idol for a long while tonight. His silver hair didn’t bother her, them naturally conversing in korean in front of blatantly watching fellow Filipinos didn’t bother her as, for her, he just felt like an ordinary person who was nothing more than a responsibility. Yet, at that point as he made a completely outrageous suggestion, reality started to appear clearer than ever.

A kpop idol was asking her to share a room with him. Kim Sung Gyu of Infinite wanted her to share the room with him.

If it was Faye, she would have had a stroke and died. 

“Chill, I keep to myself, I’m not interested” He informed her, and she gave him a sharp look.

“That’s not what I’m worried about,” She told him.

“I’m worried about the part which you’re worried about too,” He said. 

Belen was sure they were on the same page in that conversation. The pay wasn’t the problem, sharing the room slightly was, but wouldn’t be if she got a top bunk or if she wouldn’t sleep tonight. What did bother her was, how was she to sneak him out of the hostel in the morning with nobody identifying him? The storm had kept away the fans who’d have, in regular circumstances, flooded the arrivals gate at the airport; the storm had kept the interest turning on his direction as everyone was just struggling to survive.

But how would these things change come the next day when the storm was no longer there for them to take cover behind?

“But that would be tomorrow,” Sung Gyu replied dismissively. He seemed to talk more than before, appearing less sleepier as if the possibility of a good rest had given him an energy boost. 

Belen watched him for a moment, million thoughts in her mind. That was not her only concern. What would she tell her manager? What documents would she turn in? How could she possibly submit a bill from a hostel for a shared dormitory room which didn’t even have room service? She was sure sharing the room would be least of her worries, especially given that her manager and her entire office knew her better, that she’d never be the type. What she was risking there was her job for not providing him with the facilities that he desired.

But what other choices did she have?

“Are you sure about it, Sung Gyu-Ssi?” Belen bit her bottom lip anxiously.

“Yes” He nodded in return.

“Absolutely?”

“Absolutely”

If he was sure, then to the heck with it. Belen could probably get the receptionist to forge a bill for them or even make him bill for two private rooms instead of a dorm when then paid the next day. She could probably make things work.

And thus, she got them a four people dormitory as planned. They had to book the remaining two beds too, in order to keep other possible strangers away. Soon they were led to their room, which was two storeys up, a regular room with minimal furniture, no balconies but two wide windows and pastel blue walls. Belen wasn’t exactly fond of the obscure glass door of the bathroom which certainly displayed the silhouette inside and made a mental note to use it with lights off. The person from the reception helped them to unload Sung Gyu’s bags which they both had to carry to their room on foot. By the time they finally settled in, it was late into the night and rain had started to crash once more.

Sung Gyu rid himself of his cap and mask and even the hoodie while Belen pretended not to exist. He was in a long sleeved T-shirt underneath, which was probably why he wasn’t flustered, doing what he did. They didn’t talk to each other and Belen busied herself, talking to her manager and spewing lies while Sung Gyu quietly opened his bags and settled in for the night. By the looks of it, he was a very organised person. He had one bag separately for different items; for shoes, for clothes, for toiletries and whatnot. Belen was actually quite fascinated as she surreptitiously watched him retrieve items carefully from each of them.

When he came to the bag with shoes, he tutted and closed it back with a thud. Thankfully Belen was off the call with her manager at that time.

“Is everything alright?” She asked him, bringing back her professional manager persona. Judging by his expression of annoyance, she could tell that they weren’t.

“Slippers,” he told her, his voice a little grim. “I don’t have slippers”

Belene pursed her lips. She didn’t think it was something to be so upset about. Slippers were just slippers, and almost every hostel offered complimentary pairs of them. 

She got up from her chair and traversed the room to the door. Just as she guessed, by the lockers left for the four dorm room occupants, there was a pair of fresh complimentary slippers each. She picked up a pair and went over to Sung Gyu who sat on the floor in his socks. 

“Here you go”

Sung Gyu frowned at them as if they offended him. 

“I can’t have those,” He told her.

“Then” she glanced at his partly closed case of shoes. “Didn’t you bring your own?”

“I had a pair,” he said grimly. “But I had to leave them with my Manager as he didn’t have any”

“I’m pretty sure these are good as new,” Belen pointed at the pair that she’d brought him. “We too wear slippers inside in this country, you know”

“Other people could have probably used them” He said and his voice was actually quite naggy, unexpected from how quiet and reserved he’d been the whole time before. She was baffled that slippers could actually make Kim Sung Gyu speak more.

“They probably had” Belen sincerely agreed. “But they must be cleaned for other people to use...they look good as new”

Sung Gyu shook his head, pulling his lips into a thin line like a sulky child. “I can’t wear them”

“And why not?”

Belen was one step away from changing her impression of him from kind of ordinary to extremely spoilt and entitled brat. 

“Because I have sensitive skin” He explained to her, his voice becoming whinier the more he spoke. “Wearing other people’s things give me skin irritation, and that includes slippers”

Belen couldn’t help but roll her eyes. She hadn’t heard anything more ridiculous for the life of her. She was right. No idol was an exception. They could all be a pain and a burden in their own way, they were all conceited and entitled and insane in their own way. 

“Maybe you could try,” Belen prompted on.

But Kim Sung Gyu wasn’t one to take any. He feigned her ignorance as he abandoned his case and climbed up on his feet. “Is there anywhere I could get a new pair of slippers nearby?” He said as he peered through the closed window out at the empty, stormy street.

“Tonight? Right now?”

“Yeah” He said distractedly, pulled out his phone and muttered under his breath as he possibly looked up for places that would accommodate his needs.

“But it's raining” It was her turn to whine. Belen despised the rain, yet she had been in it for longer than she wished. “All the stores and probably close by now”

He lifted his head from his search almost determinedly. “Probably not all,” He said. “We could ask the reception”

Belen raised her hands in question, standing over him in hopes that her appearing intimidating could change his mind. “Right now? Do you seriously want to go out right now, SungGyu-Ssi? To buy slippers?”

“Uhuh” He nodded as if it was a completely normal thing to do.

Belen could only stare down at him, her mouth open yet speechless. She had changed her mind indefinitely by then. Belen hadn’t met anyone more conceited and insufferable in her whole entire life. And she hadn’t even lived for that long.

She watched him, feeling completely helpless as he hurriedly pulled on his shoes and sweater and cap and mask as if there wasn’t anything more important than his own pair of slippers. She hadn’t seen so much energy coming from him for the entire day since she met him, and she hadn’t expected that exhilaration before. He was ready in no time and didn’t look like he had the tolerance to wait. But she couldn’t let him go by himself either. She had to accompany him, whether she liked it or not.

“Manager-nim, are you coming?” He asked her as he skillfully concealed his hair underneath the cap.

Belen let out a heavy sigh. She just wished she had the choice not to.

  


That was how Belen ultimately found herself walking in the heavy rain in an oversized raincoat, solely in search of slippers. They couldn’t drive, as the roads were flooding ankle deep. Thankfully, the only available store was in a small street and in walking distance. It was a terrible idea to be walking in the street. For one, they were getting drenched from head to toe, their shoes completely soaked. Secondly, thunderbolts and lightning sounded much closer than they did ever before. 

Kim Sung Gyu, however, appeared the least concerned as he hurried his way in search of his precious slippers. She couldn’t understand why he just couldn’t settle for what he had. If he was fine to stay in a measly four bedded hostel room, why couldn’t he settle for used house slippers as well? Why did he have to need a new pair of them and why would he struggle so much to get them?

Another reason why Belen should steer clear of them, men. Perhaps it was one of the many foolish little things that they did, settling for little when it mattered more. 

“Do we have more to walk?” Belen asked him at some point. She was drenched under the raincoat that barely stayed in place and she was shivering. Although Sung Gyu too was in the same shape, he hardly seemed to mind. He was focused on his phone as he followed google map’s trail. 

“Just a few meters, hold on” He said.

But Belen didn’t want to hold on. She couldn’t. She was on the verge of her patience; and every time thunder crashed behind her, she’d jump and memories would flood back to her mind and she hated having her sandals wet. She desperately wanted to run inside. 

“Just a little bit, and then we’d make a turn-,”

In that very instant then, a particularly strong thunder crashed. Right before her eyes in a matter of seconds was a fiery ball of lightning that attacked the electricity pole a few meters away from them. The crack of electricity echoed throughout the quiet neighbourhood, sparks flew and part of the town fell into complete darkness. Belen didn’t even realise that she had screamed really loud and grabbed onto the next person available, her eyes closed and crying.

Thunder, lightning, rain, fire. All of these were triggers for Belen Torres who’s life had changed so many years ago because of them.

A moment later, everything fell quiet. Half the town had drowned in darkness and a few heads popped out from windows of houses and stores nearby. Rain continued to fa,, thunder continued to crash. Every time it did, she’d stiffen, she’d cry a little like a child. Belen’s mind was in a whirlwind. Traumas were possibly the worst that one could have.

“Manager-nim” Sung Gyu’s voice sounded quietly yet a lot closer than she imagined. It took her a while to realise that she’d somehow huddled herself into his arms. His face was really, really close. Even in the darkness, his kind eyes glimmered like stars. “Are you okay?”

Belen sooned pulled away from him, surprised by her own mindless response. She nodded quickly as she moved away, wishing that she could just shrink into herself.

“Were you scared by that?” He asked, gesturing at the electricity poll that stood there like a silent beast.

Belen feigned ignorance as she walked ahead.

“Don’t worry about that” Sung Gyu told her as he caught up with her pace. “I was shocked too, I’ve never seen anything like that before”

Belen just hummed, a little better as he didn’t mock her for her fears, but she was still incredibly embarrassed. Fear, trust, love; those were the kind of emotions that she never easily let on. She believed in standing strong, and for this she had to suppress herself from expressing them. And thus, in odd moments when she couldn’t keep herself in control, naturally, Belen would retract back to her shell.

And that’s what it was when she refused to speak for a long time thereafter, she was retreating, she was shrinking back into where she found comfort and tried to be somebody else. Kim Sung gyu, a complete stranger wouldn’t take note of any of this, most certainly. When she wouldn’t speak, he didn’t seem to mind. He kept checking his phone, he muttered to himself as the rain pattered upon them with their raincoats hardly shielding them. He continued his search for his slippers.

But what surprised her was, however, when the next resounding thunder struck, it was almost natural for him to grab hold of her hand. He said nothing. He did nothing before that either. Even as his fingers slowly threaded through hers, damp, cold and slender, Sung Gyu still said nothing to her. It was almost as if he’d done that for her so many times before. He didn’t stop walking even if she did. Belen gazed up at him, speechless and befuddled. But he only shrugged and continued to hold her hand as he went back to look at his phone. 

“It’s just around the corner. We can get there soon if we walk fast,” He said.

And not a word about them still holding hands.

Belen waited for him to add more, explain himself perhaps, defend his unexpected reaction. But none of it came, leaving her helplessly following after him. They were quiet as they walked on the rest; Belen, as she couldn’t find her voice anymore and Sung gyu as he was concentrating on his map. Soon, the two of them stood before a small store where a single lady cashier sat behind the counter, looking bored. It was one of those odd shops which stayed open for a long time and sold all necessary and unnecessary items for a cheaper price. The two of them stood in front of it, the shine of white light in their eyes. Belen glanced down at their entangled hands and saw that Sung Gyu still wasn’t about to let go.

“Here we are,” He said, looked at her and smiled. Belen could swear, for a moment, that her heart skipped a beat.


	3. Chapter 3

_**“No” Sung Gyu said**_ , the moment he saw the only available options of slippers in the store. “No, they can’t do this to me”

The store was small and had mostly cutesy items that were sold for a lesser price. There were hand made baskets and kitchen towels and blankets and pillow cases of various pastel colors, rainbows and glitter. She could only imagine that he hadn’t really thought this one through. 

Belen had to hold back her laughter as he picked up a pair of cute bunny eared pair of slippers. He looked devastated, to say the least.

“No….please, why are these slippers like this?”

All the slippers that were available, sadly, were cute animal slippers. There was a whole rack of regular slippers that just weren’t the right size; most were pink or purple or turquoise blue and the size for children. The ones that were actually in his size were, well, animal slippers.

“How is this possible? This is a travesty!” He picked up a pair which was in his exact size, but in the form of fluffy white kittens, a little pink bow on its ears. With a pout, he poked on the ears.

He was kind of...endearing even though he was loudly complaining. For a moment, he barely looked his age. Belen, of course, did not know how much that was, but she was certain it was nowhere close to five, although that was what he acted like. What she found even more endearing was, even though they were now in the safety and shelter of the store, he still hadn’t let go of her hand. She kept glancing down at it, wondering if she should remind him or perhaps retrieve it without him noticing. But much to her surprise, when a particularly loud thunder struck outside, his grip on her became stronger all the while loudly complaining.

Kim Sung Gyu was consciously holding her hand.

“I cannot possibly wear these, no” He now reprimanded a pair of pink piggy slippers which weren’t even at fault. “Look at them. Look at their ugly faces”

Belen decided to ignore the fact that they held hands and joined in his animal slipper predicament. 

“They aren’t that bad...at least they’re new” She told him helpfully.

“Are you kidding me?” He whined in return. “I can’t wear them. No, I don’t want to! I am a man and these are the stuff that kids wear”

Belen had to fight down the urge to point out that it was exactly what he acted like at that very moment. Instead she quietly reached out for a pair of slippers which had less of a dainty color. It was coffee brown and white. But with a sadly made face of a bunny with floppy ears.

“This is a little better” She told him as she held them out to him.

Sung Gyu’s face morphed into a very unhappy frown. “No way am I going to wear that rabbit on my feet”

“Then what about this one?” She reached for another, this time a black and white pair with a fluffy puppy face on the top. It had a pink nose and googly eyes which made you feel quite intimidated if you stared at it for a long time.

And that’s exactly what the two of them did. They stared at the googly eyes.

“Ugh no” Sung Gyu said after a while as he pushed it away. “That’s disturbing. That’s like wearing Woohyun as slippers”

Belen perked up at the slightly familiar name. “Woohyun?”

“Yeah Woohyun” Sung Gyu replied distractedly as he hung the puppy slippers back on the rack. “My bandmate, Woohyun”

“Right” Belen nodded. She could only nod, because there was no way that she’d admit that she had no idea who he was talking about.

In her defence, there were seven of them. She could vaguely remember the faces, but not enough to match names to them. The only face and the name that she could clearly recognise by now was Sung Gyu, and that was only because he was standing right next to her, scowling at animal slippers. 

“These are like Myungsoo, geeze” Sung Gyu commented, now on a pair of yellow kitty slippers. “And look. That’s Hoya” Now at brown bear slippers with unreasonably thick eyebrows. “Why do I keep seeing their faces? Why are there slippers like this?”

“Why do you keep saying they were like slippers?” Belen put in herself.

“Because they are-,” He started, then paused, then finally dropped her hand, staring at her in utmost surprise. “Wait...hold on. Do you even know them?”

“Who?” 

“Woohyun, Myung Soo, Hoya”

“Woohyun’s your bandmate” She said.

Sung Gyu’s eyes widened so much that she saw lights shining in them like a cluster of stars. He couldn’t seem to hide his surprise. “So are Myung Soo and Hoya”

“I know” Belen shrugged, feeling slightly embarrassed.

“No you did not know” He pointed out to her. “Not until I told you right now”

Belen rolled her eyes and reached for a random pair of slippers. She did not want to have this conversation, she did not want to come off as if she hadn’t done her homework right. Frankly, right now she felt like she was being roasted by the smartest kid in the class for not knowing the times tables. 

“Forget it, lets just get some of these and leave”

But Sung Gyu wasn’t about to have it.

“Wait” He said, blocking her way. He held up his hands. “Do you even know Infinite?”

“Of course I do!” She snapped, now tired of this conversation. “They’re...you”

Sung Gyu laughed in response. “Right, then what is our most popular song?”

Belen had not had a single reason why she should know their most popular song. If it was Faye, she would have died out of breath after reciting their entire discography, but Belen was not Faye. Belen did not know a single song that Infinite had made. But she wasn’t about to admit that. She was equally competitive when it came to situations like this. The smart kid could not beat her intelligence, even if that meant that she did not know a single thing.

“The-the song…” She stammered, looking away. “That everyone sings”

“Heol!” He laughed. “You have no idea, do you?”

“So?” She returned, not ready to accept defeat. “Do I have to know them to be taking you around the town searching for slippers?”

She had thought that that would bring him down, but Kim Sung Gyu appeared completely undeterred and without a doubt, he was enjoying himself. 

“You should know it” He said haughtily, standing in the middle of the aisle, blocking the way. “It goes like-,” He lifted his hand and did some sort of a dance move which involved him gesturing at her with his upturned hand. “naekkeohaja naega neol saranghae eo?”

Belen hadn’t heard that song for the life of her. She just stood there, blankly staring at him with a pair of bunny slippers in her hands.

“Seriously?” He asked, taking a step towards her, his eyes widened in amusement. “You haven’t?”

Belen ignored him and looked down at her watch. It was somewhere past two in the dawn and she couldn't believe it that they were still in a shop and not actually sleeping. “Do you want the slippers or can we go now, SungGyu-Ssi?”

It was only then that Sung Gyu finally complied. He looked down at the slippers in her hands and shrugged. “No. I don’t want them”

“Good” She said and proceeded to hang them back on the rack. “We have successfully wasted an hour of a good nightly sleep”

  


The two of them exited the store after a failed mission, and by that time the rain had considerably declined. The wind was still rushed and roads were slightly flooded. But at least they no longer needed their raincoats. They discarded them in a nearby bin and Belen was ready to hit the road and return to the warmth and comfort of their room when suddenly Sung Gyu stopped her on her tracks.

“You know what?” He said, glancing at the still open store and back at her. “Maybe I will get those. It’s better than wearing some with unknown germs”

Belen threw her head back and let out the loudest, most frustrated groan.

“What? Seriously! Can you be more indecisive?!?”

“Relax, we’re just two feet away” He said, already turning back to the store.

“Yes but you could have decided while we were still inside!”

He pretended not to hear her as they entered the store again, the bell above its door cheerfully rattling. Sung Gyu hurriedly grabbed a pair from the rack that he said looked like Woohyun and they soon came to the counter. Sung Gyu pulled out his wallet, then his card. But the lady at the cashier shook her head and pointed at what appeared to be a hand written notice on the counter.

“What? What does it say?” Sung Gyu asked her under his breath.

“No card, cash only” She translated for him.

“But I don’t-,”

“Wait, I might '' Belen pulled out her own wallet. She didn’t usually carry a lot of cash in hand as she was more used to using her cards, but she did have a few peso’s with her for odd situations like this. Unfortunately for them, on that night, she was just a few peso’s short. She gathered all the cash she had in hand and laid them on the counter.

“This is all I have in cash” She told the lady in her own language. It felt strange, switching back after a long time. “Is there a cash machine nearby?”

The lady gestured at somewhere beyond the storefront. “That one...but its broken”

“Ah…” Belen gave her the most awkward smile. She felt terrible to be doing this. She didn’t owe anyone a single pence. “Well…”

“It’s okay” The lady told her with a tired, sleepy smile. “It’s just a few…”

“I’m really sorry...we will pay the rest tomorrow”

“Okay” The lady sighed and tiredly packed the slippers into a paper bag.

“What did she say?” Sung Gyu hissed at her and Belen switched back to Korean. Her accent sounded a little off as soon as she did. Yet she recited the whole exchange as briefly as she could. 

“Ah no, we can’t do that,” Sung Gyu told her determinedly.

“But do we have a choice?”  


Sung Gyu seemed to actually contemplate his response. 

“Wait” He said as if he suddenly got the perfect idea. Then he went on to take off his mask and revealed his silvery white hair. Belen knew what he was about to do, flaunt his celebrity status and win brownie points. She couldn’t stop him, nor was she about to as she too wanted to see how it would work out.

“I am a korean Singer” He told the cashier lady in adorably broken english. “I am from infinite”

Belen could only cover her face with both hands in second hand embarrassment. There was no way that they could return to this store now. If anything, the lady would lock he doors and close the store if she saw them from miles away.

Sung Gyu didn’t stop there. For her amazement, he shamelessly proceeded to do the hand gesture and singing which, miraculously seemed to have attracted the lady cashier. She had a wide smile on her lips and even clapped happily at the end of this performance as if he’d definitely won her heart.

Weirdly, however, Belen thought he might have stolen hers too. For a moment. Just for a moment. Because she hadn’t seen anyone being so passionate over slippers to the point that they’d actually embarrass themselves and go out of their way to get them.

“I will give sign” Sung Gyu told her in the end and gestured with his hands, demanding pen and paper. She hastily complied, grabbing a faint old felt tip and an old poster. Sung Gyu ever so happily signed right across the paper in huge, strangely attractive letters.

“Name?”

The lady told him her name, which, much to Belen’s relief, was of simple syllables. He had no trouble writing it down, and soon he handed to her the poster with both his hands. He finished his performance with a deep, ninety degree bow and waving cutely with both his hands.

Belen could only shake her head in response. All the song and dance this man would do for a mere pair of slippers? Belen was still in disbelief. If she told Faye everything that happened for the past few minutes, she was certain she would collapse. 

  


They hit the road yet again, this time Sung Gyu happily hugging his new slippers to his chest. He was a lot different now from when she’d first met him. His frown was replaced by a huge smile, his eyes were all shiny and there was hardly any silence as he had so much to tell to fill it with.

“Are you really that happy? Getting new slippers?” Belen asked him when he peeked into the package like a child.

“Very” He said, nodding enthusiastically. “Now I don’t have to wear those germy slippers”

Belen laughed in response. “What’s wrong with wearing them? They’re just slippers”

“Not for me” Sung Gyu shook his head. “I hate to wear things that others have worn. Even if I lend my clothes to anyone I won’t wear them again”

She scoffed, shaking her head. “But you wear slippers on your feet”

“My feet are very important to me” He returned gravely.

The two of them fell into a moment of comfortable quietness for a while as they walked ahead. The town was all dead quiet, save for a few shops that were still open to serve the demands of nightly strollers. When they passed by a small shop that sold Ihaw-Ihaw even so deep into the night and when their sweet oily scent filled her lungs, Belen suddenly remembered that they both haven’t had anything to eat for a long, long time.

“You know what?” She said, stopping on her tracks. Sung Gyu stopped along with her.

“What?”

She looked up at him. “Now it's my turn to demand something”

Sung Gyu raised his brows. “And that is?”

A little embarrassed, she turned away. “I’m hungry”

Sung Gyu suddenly burst out in laughter. “That’s it? That’s your demand?”

“What are you laughing about?”

Sung Gyu continued to laugh, not seeing that she’d felt offended. “Because I was about to ask the same,” He said.

  


Taking him to a nightly street food stall was not an option, since, as delicious as they were, she could never be sure if they would fit Sung gyu’s taste and dietary needs. The last thing she could afford right now was him getting food poisoning so they decided to walk even further in search of a convenience store that would have the kind of food that would suit him.

They found a Ministop that was still open just a few feet away from their hostel, which was a huge convenience. The cashier, a young man who appeared least enthusiastic about his part time job, only lifted his head to glance up at them before returning to whatever he was doing. Belen grabbed a basket and proceeded to fill it with snacks and instant noodles, the kind of comfort food that they needed at this time of the day. Sung Gyu threw in his own share as he fascinatedly looked at each item on sale. He looked particularly happy when he saw items from his own country; instant noodles and instant rice cake. She threw in a bunch just because he looked like he wanted them.

Belen also did not forget to add on a couple of their own traditional snacks, the kind that she, as a Filipino, would love to let a foreigner taste.

Afterwards, the two walked back to the hostel a lot faster on their feet, fueled by their mutual hunger. Fortunately for them, their room was equipped with a fridge and a microwave oven, which kept them from having to return to the common room in the middle of the night. Sung Gyu gingerly pulled out his brand new slippers as soon as they returned, put them on and gave her the biggest, brightest smile that she’d seen from him for the entire day.

Belen...felt weird. It was an emotion she couldn’t quite put a word to. Happy? Satisfied? Perhaps a little glad that she could make his brief stay with her comfortable? She despised contemplating back to her emotions, she despised how they made her feel. It was the first time in ages that a man was making her feel any differently about them, and of all the men, it had to be a kpop idol she was forced to work with.

Belen wasn’t sure what she was to make out of it, so she decided to not think at all.

“Manager-nim” Sung Gyu called her at some point. She was busy texting people (Her manager) that she only hummed in response.

“Do you mind if I shower first before eating?”

She was paying very little attention that she only hummed again. There was silence then, and she could see that Sung Gyu was just standing and waiting. She finally put her phone away and looked up at him.

“I want to shower” He told her yet again.

“Okay” She nodded.

And then, for the first time, she was seeing a different expression on him. His ears have turned crimson, a stark contrast to his bleached locks, and his lips were forming a small shy smile. It took a second for it to dawn upon her, and she hopped up on her feet, her cheeks burning.

“Okay, alright...umm” She scratched the side of her nose. “I’ll-I’ll...get us some coffee and come” She said, stumbling on her own words and before he could even say anything in return, she slipped on her own slippers and fled out of the room. 

As she walked the empty corridors, lights coming on and going off when she passed, Belen could swear her heart was struggling to catch pace. She hated being like this, being affected, feeling different towards a person this way after years of avoiding them. She wasn’t sure what was happening, what about Kim Sung Gyu that made her feel this way. Was it how different he was from what she expected? His smile? His words? His unexpected comfort? His quirkiness and all around humble, adorable ways. She felt like she was floating on her feet even as she made it to the reception. She vaguely remembered that they had a coffee dispenser there which had to be good for the moment. But first, she had to sit down and recollect herself.

She sat down in the empty lobby, her hand on her chest and stared at the pale blue wall for the longest time.

Perhaps, she was just thinking too much. There was nothing that Kim Sung Gyu could possibly make her feel. 

With a deep breath, shaking her head, she pulled her phone out once more. There were a whole lot of messages from Faye asking endlessly how things have been.

Unexpected. She wanted to tell her. Incredible. Kim Sung Gyu was not who she thought he would be.

But Belen simply couldn’t tell her anything. Strangely, somehow, all of these little memories that she’d made from this unlikely encounter, Belen wanted to cherish them and keep them to herself.

‘It’s all good’ Belen merely typed and sent instead.

  


She let Sung Gyu take all the time he needed and went back to her car to grab the stuff he needed. Since the storm warning came out, she had imagined she’d be stuck somewhere out of the city so she’d made it a point to pack a day bag, just in case. She was glad her forward thinking had come in handy as she had enough clothes and toiletries packed in her trunk to last for a day. The storm had considerably subsided by then, except for the wind and occasional thunder. They scared her, nevertheless, that she grabbed her things and returned, hurried on her feet.

By the time she returned to the room with coffee and her things, Sung Gyu had already come out of the shower. The entire room smelled fruity and citrusy and expensive, which filled her lungs with a single breath. He sat on the lower bunk of the bed by the window, his hair damp, a towel on his shoulders and clad in an adorable baby blue sweater and white checkered pajamas.

If she was told that she’d be seeing Kim Sung Gyu of Infinite in Pajamas earlier that day, Belen would have rioted. She still would, because he actually looked cute and so she hated him.

“You’re back” He said, glancing up from his phone. “I was about to come down since you took so long”

“No, I, uh…” She gestured at the day bag in her hands. “Went to the car to grab some things”

“Alone?” He perked up.

Belen nodded. Sung Gyu peeked outside from the window. “Were you okay?”

“Yeah”

“Okay” He too nodded and went back to his phone. “Well, you can shower...if you want. I can, um…” He scratched his head.

“No, it’s okay”

As embarrassed as she felt, if she let him off her radar, Belen would very likely lose her mind. 

“Okay, um” He nodded vigorously to himself. “Make yourself...comfortable I guess”

They’ve become all strange and awkward in a matter of minutes. Belen, herself, didn’t feel great; not exactly comfortable to think that she’d be showering, perhaps with no clothes on while a celebrity that she hardly knew sat right on the other side of the wall.

“Here’s...here’s your coffee” Belen said, in hopes that it would make the atmosphere less awkward. But it didn’t because she had to get closer to him to hand it to him.

When he took the cup from her, their hands brushed and immediately, she remembered the moment she held her hand. That tiny little touch was electrifying, it sent sparks right to her core. Sung Gyu, regardless, appeared completely undeterred as he thanked her distractedly and concentrated on his phone.

All Belen could do at that moment was grab her things and run into the bathroom as fast as she could. 


	4. Chapter 4

_**She did wash up**_ with the lights off. It wasn’t an easy feat, given that the bathroom was quite small and she kept running into things, hitting her arms and knees. It was a struggle to find the soap and it didn’t help how the entire place still smelled like his shower gel. Belen tried not to think, tried not to let that sweet scent get into her brain. Dressing up was even more difficult and she was pretty sure she had her T-shirt on the wrong way.

All in all, Belen would not recommend showering in the dark, not even to her worst enemy, not even to Faye even if her Junkook was sitting right outside in baby blue pajamas.

By the time Belen exited the Bathroom, Sung Gyu had already started without her. He was busy preparing the noodles, heating water and opening the packages; in the background, songs were playing and he was singing along.

And he sounded incredibly good.. She’d heard it only once, back in the slipper shop. Hearing it now was a wholly different experience. She was frozen for a moment, hating it that Sung Gyu was attacking her with different sides of him without an end, and Frankly, Belen was tired. Inside her head, she could almost hear Faye’s voice telling her; ‘This is what you’ve been missing out on’.

“Oh hi” He greeted her upon seeing her standing in the middle of the room in a towel turban. He then turned the music off. “I was just, err...practicing and started on this…”

“That’s fine,” Belen said, giving him a smile. She had to recollect herself now. After all, she had to have dinner with him and share the room with him for the entire night.

So she walked over and rather composedly sat on the floor beside him. The microwave pinged and he retrieved a paper bowl of instant rice cake, its aroma filling the room.

“I didn’t know what to do with these,” He said, gesturing at the paper bags which had all the Merienda.

“Oh right” She told him, took the paper bags and smiled. Although it wasn’t the right time of the day, nobody could say not to some good merienda even on occasions. Belen had gotten a variety of them; some sweet, some savory but all finger snacks that they could both enjoy without a hassle.

Sung Gyu was watching her intently as she retrieved them from the paper bags and laid them down before him.

“Now these” She explained, gesturing at them in the likes of a chef. “Are what we call Merienda; they’re snacks, basically. I’ve got a bunch of different types”

“Nice” Sung Gyu commented appreciatively and gestured at Carioca, which was basically rice flour and grated coconut, which was more of sweet rice cake. “I remember these from our last time here”

“It’s sweet” She explained to him. “It’s like a dessert”

“Right” He laughed. 

“Now these” She continued, picking up an Empanada. “These are savory. They’re a bit spicy”

She went on to introduce all the five different Merienda that she’d gotten from the convenience store, which weren’t as fresh from when they’d get from a street food store or a Jollie cart. Sung Gyu listened to everything, showing genuine interest and even tried them and commented exactly in the way somebody trying them for the first time would. Manila was a beautiful, vibrant city which had so much of life and so much to see. She wished, even as she gave him a little taste of her culture, that she had the chance to have him explore more, and explore more with her.

“So we Filipinos love our rice” Belen went on as she opened her own ready-made meal set. “We love it so much that we have it for breakfast, lunch and dinner”

“So every meal you say” Sung Gyu replied as he devoured his own food.

“You’re right” She laughed. “Well, our meals are more than just rice…” She let out a heavy sigh and gave him a sad smile. “Honestly, I wish I could take you on a whole culinary journey instead of looking for slippers, I’d have made you try all the food we could find”

Sung Gyu laughed in return. “And if I did, I would never hear an end to it from Woohyun”

Belen raised her brows.

“Ah, we planned to go out and eat when he’s here,” Sung Gyu explained. “Speaking of whom” He continued and set down his food as if he suddenly remembered it. “Let me show them to you” He glanced up at her with a mischievous grin. “Since you don’t know a single one of them”

“Now that” She raised her hand. “That’s not right, okay? We had a whole lecture on Infinite before you came here”

Sung Gyu picked up his phone and looked at her accusingly. “Then you haven’t done your homework, Manager-nim”

It felt completely natural to sit next to him as he pulled his phone out and scrolled through his photos. There were photos of nature, of buildings and people and most importantly, pictures of his band mates that he’d taken in odd, unsuspecting moments. Embarrassing pictures, pictures of them intentionally posing weird for him. As he scrolled through them, he spoke so fondly of each one of them. Woohyun and his clinginess, Dongwoo and how he couldn’t sit and wait in one place, Hoya and his very bad humour, Myungsoo and his dual personalities, SungYeol and his fake wit, Sung Jong his baby brother that he loved to mock the most. For a moment, he just sounded like an older sibling talking about his unreasonably large number of brothers. As he spoke, Belen couldn’t help but watch how his expressions changed. His smile was gentle, his eyes softened. All she could witness was pride and affection, all directed to them. It didn’t even occur to her that it was an idol group that he was talking about.

“You’d see when they’re finally here” He said on an endnote as he sat back, putting his phone away. “They’re a bunch of nice kids. They’re not what you’d expect”

Belen fought the urge to tell that she couldn’t agree more, that she too had felt the same.

But instead, she proceeded to defend herself for not knowing them. 

“I’ve never really been a fan of kpop, to be honest” She admitted sincerely. “It’s always appeared overrated for me”

Belen initially expected him to take offence in her words, but instead, he actually nodded in agreement. “I think a lot of people have the same impression, not only you”

“No offence, honestly”

Sung Gyu just laughed it off. “No offence taken” He took a particularly large bite of his food. “So what kind of music do you listen to?”

Belen, herself, was not a huge music enthusiast. But she imagined that everyone had their own preference to listen to at odd times.

“Well you know” She shrugged. “Plain old filipino music mostly. And I also like western music from the 1980’s”

Sung Gyu set his cup down on the floor, nodding in agreement. “Music is music, no matter what kind people listen to” He explained, for once sounding strangely philosophical. “Like, Americans speak english, people from thailand speak thai and you speak your own language...but music is like...everyone’s language”

“You’re right. You’re absolutely right” She laughed.

Belen screwed open a bottle of fizzy juice and handed it over to him. “So what music do you listen to?”

“Me?” Sung Gyu raised his brows, and she nodded. “Well….” He seemed to mull it over for a second. “I like Nell -It’s a korean band, not like us- and I like Coldplay, and Oasis, and Radiohead...and a couple of others”

“You’ve got taste!” Belen commented excitedly. The more he spoke, the more ordinary that he appeared to be. 

“Right?” He laughed, and much to her amazement, he started to sing what she easily recognised as Oasis’s Wonderwall. He only sang a few lines; but when he caught her watching him, he got embarrassed and dropped the act.

Belen, however, had to admit, Faye probably did have a point. Even when he sang just casually, his voice seemed to come out without effort; smooth and raw and beautiful. It was like water streams on rainy days, like honey, like butter, like melting snow in the spring. If he sounded so good casually belting a line or two in his baby blue pajamas, Belen couldn’t imagine how it must be on the stage.

“You’re good” She admitted, not holding back a word. “You’re so good, SungGyu-Ssi”

“Well, Thank you” He smiled shily, and spluttered when she too smiled in response. “I am a singer, that’s what I do”  


“I didn’t think you’d be so good at it”

“Sadly that’s the impression most people have on kpop boy groups” Sung Gyu returned with a shrug.

“Not me” Belen shook her head. “Me, I was never interested in boy groups and especially boy groups” She turned away. “I just find them annoying. You know...boys. They don’t mean what they say”

Sung Gyu nearly choked on the drink that he was having. “Hold on” He laughed. “So you hate boy groups because you hate men?”

“I don’t hate them” She replied, a little embarrassed that she’d let on too much of her emotions. “I just don’t like them”

“And why not?”

When Belen threw at him a sharp gaze, he held up both his hands in his defence. “No offence. I am genuinely curious, is all”

She just shrugged. If she went into a full account on how all three of her previous relationships have hurt her and destroyed her and disappointed her to the extent that she’d started taking them as representatives of the entire male population and taken them a reason to dislike them, then it would take her the entire day and more.

“Bad relationships” She said in the end, the long story short.

“Ah…” He nodded, and then he fell quiet. 

Belen thought, at that point, that their conversation had ended for good. It felt incredible to actually find someone whom you could converse comfortably with, with no restrictions, and she’d genuinely thought that was what it was. But when it suddenly came to a standstill, her words still hanging in the damp air, lost and forgotten, she actually felt terrible. It was there that he drew the line then. It was there that he switched from being an ordinary person to a celebrity. It was there that he expected her to halt, to stop being herself around him, and she hated that she’d let herself to.

Belen was considering gathering herself and moving away when he suddenly spoke again, taking her by surprise. “You know, when I was little, I stayed with my grandparents once, and they had a dog”

Baffled by his sudden intrusion, Belen sat completely still. Sung Gyu finished the last of his food, put the cup aside and cleaned his face with a paper napkin. “It wasn’t a nice dog” He continued daintily. “It was a big black nasty dog. And that one time when I stayed over, the dog bit me. Like, really hard. I had to get stitches and shots and it really wasn’t nice”

Belen naturally winced, imagining a much younger dog bitten Sung Gyu crying his heart out.

“After that, dogs became a big no no for me” He gestured animatedly with his hands as he spoke. “I didn’t hate dogs. I just didn’t like them after that”

Belen couldn’t help but burst out laughing at his terrible impersonation of her.

“Anyway...” He went on. “Fast Forward to some years later, Infinite had to star in this show where we had to raise three, not one but three dogs in our dorm. Can you imagine how it must have been for me?”

“It probably sucked,” She said.

“Very.” He nodded in agreement. “And the worst thing is, I couldn’t even tell them why I hated dogs. It would have been so humiliating and they wouldn’t keep their mouths shut”

Belen rearranged herself on the ground, completely immersed in his tale. “So what happened?”

“It’s a long story” He shrugged, and she pouted in disappointment. “What the hell?”

“But” He raised his hand. “The long and the short of it is, I still don’t like dogs. I honestly don’t. But there are three of them that even now I’d give my heart and soul too”

“The three dogs from the show”

“You’re right” Sung Gyu agreed with a finger gun and met her eyes. “What I’m trying to say is, it’s natural, what you feel about...men, I think. Because you associate them with some of the worst memories you had. Anyone would do that. Even me. Even Myung Soo who don’t eat black bean noodles after they made him puke in fifth grade-,”

Belen laughed.

“But still, just like I started liking these three dogs, there will be one day when one person, one man would probably steal your heart. You never know, Manager-nim. You’d probably wouldn’t like a single man that exists in this whole world. But still, that one person would always be an exception”

When Sung Gyu said that, and when he looked up, met her eyes and held her gaze, something strong slowly shifted inside her. Belen never thought of things in that way. In fact, she never thought of things at all. If she hated men, she just hated them. If there was no interest, no change of hearts, so be it, she’d thought. She simply hadn’t had the time. But that was not to say that she hadn’t had an odd moment or two where she’d wished her life was different. She’d wished her thoughts would change, that her impression on men would change so her life would be simpler.She hoped that she’d become more gentler, more approachable, perhaps more beautiful so she could be loved, held and comforted, all of which she had failed to receive for the most part of her life. Belen had always thought that she’d grown up too fast. She saw and experienced things that she shouldn’t have at a tender age, which ultimately made her become harder, stronger and even unlovable. She knew that her hopes of affection of a man over her loneliness was just wishful thinking. There was no chance that things would change.

But right at that moment, Sung Gyu’s words, their sense, their weight, the million stars in his eyes seemed to give her hope. They seemed to tell her something, a story that would never be told, that probably should never be. And that little tale felt to be wrapped completely around him. That one man who seemed to have touched and moved her stone cold heart.

But Belen couldn’t admit any of that, could she? Instead, she just laughed it off in response.

“Men?” She scoffed. “Well, I might know very little about them but I do know that this” She gestured at herself. “Would never be what they need”

“That’s very subjective” Sung Gyu raised his hand. “Besides, why would you even think so? Manager-nim, you’re strong anr responsible and easy to be with. I think anyone would like that”

“But men expect women to be fair, to be beautiful-,”

“To hell with being fair and beautiful” Sung Gyu interrupted her, his voice stern that it immediately silenced her. “When somebody likes someone, they naturally become beautiful to them”

The room fell silent afterwards, and that was the point when Belen realised, Kim Sung gyu had most effortlessly turned her world around. She felt warmth in her eyes, she could hear the beating of her own heart.

“That’s...that’s probably the nicest thing someone has ever said” She told him, touched by the sincerity of his words. And that's the truth. Nearly thirty years of her life, three previous relationships, yet still nobody has even gotten closer to the impact that Kim Sung Gyu had made within one night.

“They should have told you more often, then” He said in an endnote. When he smiled, Belen thought that she hadn’t seen anything more beautiful. “They should”

Belen wanted to thank him for telling her that, for making her feel different, for making her feel indescribably special even if it was for just one night, but she just didn’t have the heart to. If she allowed herself to acknowledge it further, she’d end up needing more. Belen knew and understood that she possibly couldn’t have more. It was just this one night. Just tonight. Sung Gyu’s comfort wasn’t something that she was meant to have. When tomorrow would come, when they return to their ordinary lives and when this timeline indefinitely changes, leaving tonight the magical, memorable and perhaps the best night of her life, everything will be over. And Belen, for him wouldn’t matter any more than the millions of people he had met.

So Belen did what she was best at doing. She shook it off, ignored it, dismissed it, this emotion. And she told him the last thing that came to her mind.

“Do you usually talk this much? Or is it too much Banana cue that’s talking?”

Sung Gyu set down the sweet Banana dessert that he’s been feasting on, his cheeks glazing pink. “Definitely the Banana'' He said, making her laugh.

“Banana cue’s are famous for having that effect on people”

“No but seriously, it's so good’ He admitted, wiping his mouth and hands on a paper towel. “Not only the Banana cue, I mean. This-this…” He gestured to the space between them. “This whole conversation”

“The conversation?” Belen raised her brows.

Sung Gyu nodded in response. “You know, it’s nearly morning and I probably should get more sleep...but I haven’t had a longer conversation with anyone for a long time”

“You haven’t?”

He shook his head. “My life is so hectic. One moment, I’m in Japan. I blink, and the next I'm in Taiwan. Time just float by and I sometimes feel I haven’t been living, you know”

“Was it any different...tonight?” Belen asked him quietly, feeling a little flicker of hope in her heart.

“Very” He agreed, making that flicker grow in multitudes, so much as to burst and turn into million fireflies. “To be honest, I am secretly a little glad that you weren’t a fan”

Belen burst out in laughter. “Seriously?”

If she had the chance, she would definitely tell that to Faye and see what her reaction would be.

“No wait” Sung Gyu shook his head in defence. “No, don’t get it wrong. I love my fans, I adore them. They’re cute and perfect and work really hard. I wouldn’t be who I am without them”

“Then?”

He let out a great big sigh and met her eyes. “You know, with you, it's been like talking to a long lost friend, whereas with a fan, there is always that worry about guarding their impression of me. They have certain expectations, you see. They’ve seen and known me as this particular molded person, a perfect being, and I want to keep it that way. I would be scared to make a wrong move, to hurt them, to accidentally offend them. I am so afraid that I would lose them...but with people like you, I wouldn’t have that worry. I can be myself. Because I wouldn't lose you. Because I didn’t have you the first place”

And you never would. Her mind naturally replied in her head. And neither would I.

“You really do talk too much” She laughed.

“Right? Well I do, when I feel comfortable with people” 

“So are you?” She raised her brows.

“Very” He chuckled awkwardly, and then they both fell silent. It was evident now that that was the point where it ended, this long, endless, directionless conversation. It was the point where the magic ceased to exist. “Well, I guess we’ve stayed up pretty late” he added in a final note.

“I...I guess so too” Belen awkwardly replied.

“Maybe we should clean up”

Belen let out a heavy sigh. Her heart, strangely, was breaking inside. She wished they could last for even longer. “Yeah, we should” She replied.

The next few minutes, two of them spent to quietly clean up the mess they made. Much to her amazement, they worked in almost perfect sync. He gathered the litter, and she held out a plastic bag for him to put them in. He wiped the floor with paper towels as she cleaned the crumbs and inside of the microwave. She sprayed perfume inside the room so it no longer smelled like food while he put the leftover into the fridge. In a matter of ten minutes, the room was back in perfect shape. Then Belen awkwardly sat and waited while Sung Gyu brushed his teeth.

She despised how domestic this all felt; long, nightly conversations, shared dinner, cleaning up together and now waiting for one to be done with using the bathroom. She hadn’t had a relationship for a long time, the last being almost five years ago. It hadn’t been the best, when she was unconsciously pushed and pulled around, put in a place where she was convinced that they were indeed in a relationship whereas, for him, she was just another second option to be with. When that last relationship ended, it was Belen’s last straw. No more, she’d told herself repeatedly on the night that it ended and she broke into tears in her bathroom five years ago. No longer would she put herself down to a place where she’d constantly hurt herself. She would grow, she would heal. She would love herself more. But the end result of her journey through self healing was not what she expected. Eventually, she created a person out of herself that she didn’t want to be; someone who secretly craved for love yet was so afraid to, so much so that she turned that fear into hatred and built high walls around her to keep her safe.

Yet, tonight, however, Kim Sung Gyu, a celebrity that she’d never known had rolled into her life in the middle of a storm and put her life in perspective. Perhaps, it was her time to embrace herself, accept her fears and perhaps really allow herself to heal. If Sung Gyu was right, she would live her life, hating the people who hurt her as long as her life lasted. Maybe things would get better, maybe she would continue to dislike men with the exception of one.

She didn’t know yet whom it was going to be. But what Belen did know was that Kim Sung Gyu, over night, had most definitely become one of them.

“Manager-nim” Sung Gyu’s voice suddenly cut into her thoughts, and only then did she realise that he had exited the bathroom. He had a gentle smile on his lips. “You can go ahead”

“Oh...right” Belen nodded vigorously, a little ashamed that, for the past ten minutes, her mind was all over the place and inappropriately wrapped around the thoughts of him.

She took all her time to clean up only because she felt her mind needed time out from these unfamiliar emotions. If Faye was here, she’d call her out on being unreasonable. She’d say that it was normal to feel that way, that just about ten million girls all over the world felt about Kim Sung Gyu the same. But Belen had realised that whatever his fans around the world felt about him, it wasn’t the same as she did. One night, she’d spent one night in his captivating company, and now she was completely gripped and perhaps even smitten by him in a way that she had never imagined. Belen had not become a fangirl, that was for sure. She had never been a fangirl to judge that. But she could say that this...was a little more.

By the time she finally exited, her mouth cold with mint, Sung Gyu had already settled in the top bunk, the shine of his phone on his face.

“Are you a top bunk or a bottom bunk person?” He called out from up there.

“Bottom bunk” She replied, calling dibs on the bottom bunk of the bed that wasn’t occupied.

“Bottom bunk people are closer to hell” He said.

She laughed, settling under the covers, her mind slowly yet finally coming to a rest. She would fall asleep now, somehow, and the night would end. Tomorrow they would go back to being themselves again, Belen who was forced to be a manager for the night and Sung Gyu, the idol who was stranded alone in a place he didn’t know. She would treasure all the memories from tonight, keep them snuggled warmly in her heart and recall every time she felt she was about to lose herself again. She would remind herself, on and on that sometimes good things happen when you least expected it. That sometimes, people weren’t bad as you’d think they would be.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Nothing happened**_ as Belen wanted them to, of course. A few minutes under the blankets of the bottom bunk, she was sweltering. Perhaps Sung Gyu was right. It really felt like the bottom bunk was closer to hell.

“Are you asleep?” Sung Gyu called out, yet again from above her.

“No” She groaned, moving the covers away to get herself more air. 

“You can’t sleep there, can you?” He asked, his tone coated with amusement, almost as if he’d read her mind.

Belen gave it a few moments, then finally tossed the blanket off herself. “Ah, you’re right. It’s so hot down here”

Sung Gyu snorted in response. “Don’t tell me I didn’t warm you”

Belen sighed and climbed down from her bed. With her hands on her hips, she examined the bed above hers. “How is the temperature up there?”

“Very nice” Sung Gyu commented, sounding satisfied, followed by the rustle of his sheets. Then he poked his head to look down at her, his silvery blond locks cutely messed in every direction. “Why don’t you take the top bunk?”

She had a very embarrassing reason to not to.

“I can’t climb,” She admitted sincerely.

“You can’t climb or you’re scared to climb?”

She contemplated a comeback for a second, knowing fully well that he was going to mock her either way.

“Nevermind, I’ll take the bottom bunk” She said, returning to her bed.

There was a moment of quietness before Sung gyu called out to her again.

“What now?” She groaned.

“Come up here” He said. “I’ll help you up, I won’t let you fall”

Belen, for a moment thought that Sung Gyu was really running insane.

“Don’t get funny thoughts now, I’ll switch to the other one” He added, almost as if he’d seen right into her mind.

“Still, how is it a good idea?”

“It probably isn’t” He replied. “But you never know until you try”

He was right. Besides, Belen was willing to make the best out of tonight. She was probably being very selfish, and this, she knew. But what could she say if Sung gyu himself was offering her the opportunity for her to spend more time with him?

So Belen, without shame, took over the chance. 

“Sometimes your optimism is really overbearing for me” She said as she made her way towards his bed. Her insides were shaking. She knew that there couldn’t be a worse idea than this. But a part of her was also convinced that there probably couldn’t be one any better, that, if she did this now, she would think about this moment forever, and cherish it along with all the little scraps of memories she had with him.

Sung Gyu was all prepared to pull her up in the likes of a mountain climber and was eagerly waiting by the ladder, his hands at a ready.

“You can do it, Manager nim” He cheered from the top. “If you can fight a storm then you can definitely climb a ladder”

“I did not fight a storm” She reminded him.

“You didn't,” He agreed. “But let’s just pretend you did”

Sung gyu could be adorably ridiculous at times. Not that she was complaining. 

“Okay” Belen shook all her limbs, preparing herself for the high climb. She kept her hands on the railings, but still the height kept her retreating. “Hold on, that’s too high”

“It’s not” Sung Gyu said patiently. “You’re just small”

Belen threw him a sharp look.

“Listen” He went on, undeterred. “Just put your hands on the sides, then up you go, one feet at a time, cool?”

“I know how to climb, okay?”

Sung Gyu whined in response. “Then come up already, my feet hurt”

Just so she could prove herself, because Belen was not willing to lose, she put both her hands on the either sides of the ladder, kicked off her slippers which landed right next to Sung Gyu’s puppy slippers, and proceeded to haul her weight off the ground. It wasn’t that Belen couldn’t climb. She just didn’t want to, because even the thought of it terrified her. She’d always end up thinking about the worst case scenario. A mal-fixed ladder, the top bunk toppling over, her slipping her feet. She had to keep her eyes closed the whole time and stop herself from screaming with every movement that levitated her off the ground.

“Okay, that’s right, one foot at a time” Sung Gyu encouraged her from above, his voice soft and gentle as if he was talking to a child. Belen would probably repeat his voice like a mantra if she ever had to climb to a top bunk again.

In no time, then, she was on the top. The tricky part was to climb onto the bed then. Sung Gyu was just a few inches away from her, waiting as if to catch her if she slipped. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and just as she made the final flight to the top, she felt Sung Gyu’s arms wrapping around her, and she just couldn’t quite breathe again.

He pulled her right up to the top, his arms on her waist, and the impact had them stumbling backwards, him further into the bed and her further into him. The room fell quiet, and Belen remained still, keeping her eyes closed, her heart in her throat. He was so close to her, so unbearably close. She could feel his strong expensive scent in every breath, his warmth engulfing her, his breath colliding hers. And her hands, unconscious to her were upon his chest. His sweater was soft and warm underneath her palm, and for a second, she thought she could feel the beating of his heart. With a deep breath, Belen willed herself to open her eyes, look up at him and be braver and stronger than she’d ever be.

She realised, when she met his eyes, that she hadn’t seen a pair of eyes more beautiful before. They were like almonds, the shade of his irises held the compelling glimmer of a sunset, of autumn leaves. She could see every little imperfection of him; the little blemishes, the odd little marks, the shape of his cheeks, and tracing down to the shape of his lips.

He could have kissed her. She couldn’t fight that thought in her mind. He was just an inch away, and if she moved closer, just a little bit, they could have kissed each other. Belen realised that right at that moment when it became blatantly clear to her exactly how she felt about him, this was the furthest and the closest that they could ever go. She couldn’t kiss him, even if she wanted to. He wouldn’t kiss her, he probably didn’t even want to. And that was where their story ended. That was where it should.

It was Sung Gyu who moved away first, clearing his throat. Their friendly banter had long ended and now they’ve returned to be stranded on two different poles, so far away from each other, becoming strangers again. 

“I uh….I should-,” He stammered, and Belen immediately made way for him.

“Y-yeah….okay” She muttered, not daring to meet his eyes, her heart beating so hard in her throat. She wasn’t sure if this was what she was expecting when she decided to leave the comfort of her bed and come to him. But it was definitely what she needed to cherish for a lifetime.

Sung Gyu soon climbed off the bed, traversed the room and switched the lights off. He was right, it was high time that they went to sleep. Dawn was just minutes away. She could hear the creak of his bed as he climbed up to his own top bunk. All Belen could do at that moment was bury herself in the quilt and pretend that she did not exist.

It didn’t help at all that the bed still smelled so much like him. Nor his phone that and was still on the bed on her side.

“Um..” He called as if he’d read her mind. It was strange how this kept happening to them. “Do you mind-?”

He didn’t have to word it out for her to understand. She immediately handed the phone over the gap to the other side. She didn’t have hers with her. She didn’t really want it, for right now all she wanted was to drift off and wish this was all just a dream.

  


Sleep didn't come easy for her, like it did for him. Belen spent hours and hours before dawn, tossing and turning, her mind in a whirlwind. In fact, it felt worse than when she had her last breakup. She couldn’t exactly pinpoint what emotion she felt. Sadness? Remorse? Shame? Perhaps, it was a mixture of them all, prickling through her skin like a sad reminder. While she lived in the moment, she’d felt bold, she’d felt happy, she’d felt important. But now that she thought back to it, all she’d been was so desperate. Desperate to be needed, desperate to be comforted and loved. She’d been so desperate that she’d shamelessly done what she’d done, taken advantage of the situation and perhaps put him in a place that he probably didn’t want to be.

Belen didn’t think she could face him again, or even see him from afar, talk about him with Faye without feeling an indescribable amount of shame and remorse is her heart. She shouldn’t have done that. Belen beat herself up to no end. She just really should not have.

Somehow, she had fallen asleep at some point and also slept through the morning. When she was finally startled awake, it was by the sound of her phone ringing on the bottom bunk, its sound echoing throughout the empty room. She woke up with a heavy head, her hair a complete mess, a little disoriented as thoughts from the previous night took time to return. When they did, she was pulled wide awake. The airport, the manager, Sung Gyu. They all came to her in heavy torrents. She was hardly herself when she descended down the ladder, her thoughts in haywire that it didn’t even occur to her that ladders terrified her.

“Sir” Belen said as soon as she picked up the phone.

“Torres, how is Kim Sung Gyu?”

It took a second for her mind to register what that meant. “Good, sir,” She said.

“Did he have a comfortable sleep?”

The question immediately took her hours back into their recent past, and she felt her heart picking up pace. “Yes, he did”

Frankly she didn’t even know if he did as she hadn’t yet looked at the bed above her.

“Good job” He said. “His manager will be coming down today, so go to the airport as planned and let me know once everything’s done, okay?”

“Okay” She replied as calmly as she could. But once the call was over, she tossed the phone aside, stood up on her tippy toes and looked at the top bunk, hoping to see Sung Gyu comfortably asleep. What she did find, however, was an empty bed and ruffled, discarded sheets.

“SungGyu-Ssi?” She called as if the empty bed would respond to her. She felt cold sweat under her collars as she crept away from the bed. “SungGyu-Ssi?”

The bathroom was empty, so was the entire room. She was the only one in the room, and worse of all, all of his belongings were gone. 

For a moment, Belen stood absolutely still as her entire world collapsed around her. It was all her fault, utterly and completely. If she hadn’t behaved so brazenly around him, if she hadn’t made him feel uncomfortable, this wouldn’t have happened. It was all clear to her now. Sung Gyu must have gotten a taxi from the reception, collected his things and left while she slept. He probably wanted to get away from her. He probably didn’t even want to say goodbye.

Belen felt warmth in her eyes, and regret and anger at herself. She had to find him, still from wherever he had gone to. It was her responsibility to look after him in his manager’s absence and ensure his safety the entire time. What she had done instead was taking advantage of him to satire her own desperation.

And now everything was gone. It was over; her job, her life. She couldn’t possibly face Faye again, or her manager, or anyone. And whenever she’d hear of Infinite again, or when she’d see them on stage tomorrow, all she’d think back to would be how shameless-,

“Oh! You’re up” A voice interrupted her thoughts, all of a sudden, and Belen who was on the verge of tears, sitting on the floor took a minute to gather her thoughts.

And there he was, standing in the way of the door that she hadn’t heard opening, already completely dressed and staring down at her. 

“Wait…” He said cautiously and took a slow step inside, closing the door behind him. “Are you okay?”

It was the last straw for Belen. The very last straw. His words were pushing a button on all her pent up emotions, from the frustrations of the previous night, the anger, the remorse, the realisation that she’d developed a love that she didn’t deserve, they all came back to her in one massive storm, completely overtaking her. And Belen vented it all out in words and tears as they echoed in the quietness of the room.

“Where have you been?!?” She was sitting on the floor, barefeet, her hair disarrayed; a complete mess. On top of it all, she was screaming and she hated herself.

Sung Gyu seemed equally surprised as she was. “Downstairs…” He said quietly, gesturing behind him.

“Why on earth would you be downstairs?”

“Because it's almost check out time” He patiently reminded her. “But you were sleeping and I-,” He put his hand in his jean pocket and produced her car keys. “I’m sorry, I took your keys without asking...you were sleeping and I didn’t want to wake you up”

“You should have!” She yelled back, surprising herself by the sound of her voice. “You should have...do you have any idea how worried I was?”

Sung Gyu seemed to soften up by this that he moved closer to her, and even closer before he crouched down on the floor beside her. “I didn’t” He told her softly, followed by an apologetic smile. “But I do now”

Belen didn’t know what came over her at that point. It was as if she no longer had control over what her heart desired. Before she could stop herself, she moved closer, and without a word she laid her head against his chest.

He was warm, comforting. His scent was so sweet, so captivating. For a moment, Belen wished she could lose herself in him forever.

“I thought you left” Belen muttered under her breath, followed by a big, ugly sob. 

“Wait” He chuckled, his chest reverberated against her before he slowly pulled away to meet her eyes. “Did you really think I would leave without you?”

“You would” Belen told him, turning away.

“No I would not, silly” He laughed, and despite himself, he pulled her back against himself and his fingers caressed the back of her head as would a father comforting a child. “I can’t leave without my manager, my real manager would murder me”

Belen couldn’t help but laugh through her tears.

And then, in a smaller voice, more like an afterthought, he added; “And I would never leave without telling you”

Belen remained completely quiet, unable to find her words.

“Now” So Sung Gyu continued as he gently patted on her back. “We’ve got to leave this place before they kick us out, its almost past check out time and-,” There was a beat of silence and by the corner of her eyes she saw him checking his phone. “You have about fifteen minutes to clean up and get ready...can you do that?”

She nodded.

“Well, get going then” He laughed as he slowly moved her away.

  
  


Eventually, Belen cleaned up and washed her tear stained face, covering it with makeup so she could be a lot more professional than she had been before. Sung Gyu waited downstairs with their bags and her keys; she managed to come down just about ten minutes past the check out time. The receptionist was fine with it, especially as she made them bill for two private rooms instead of the dorm which was twice as much as what their cost should be. With the bill ready to be handed over to her manager later in the day, they thanked the receptionist and finally took off into a bright, post storm Saturday afternoon.

Their drive back to the airport was extremely quiet for the longest time. Belen was wrapped around her own thoughts, contemplating how she would recover from this dream. Sung Gyu had returned to being his idol self, busily taking call after call from his management, from his company and even from his fellow members. At some point he was even practicing his singing for the upcoming concert-slash-fan meeting that weekend and for a while, all she could hear was his soft, soothing voice overtaking the low rumble of her car.

They arrived at the airport a lot sooner than she imagined they would. The roads were less congested as the storm had passed by, making way for a new, brighter day. For Belen, however, it was worse than the last. She hadn’t the sheer mental capacity to utter a word to him, lest she let her floodgates open again. She was an inflated balloon of emotions at that point; a single prick on her heart, she would burst.

Her manager called her on their way to inform her that Sung Gyu’s real manager had landed a few minutes ago. Belen parked her car at the arrivals and waited until they got the confirmation that Sung Gyu’s designated vehicle from the company had arrived to take them to their hotel. While they waited, Sung Gyu played games on his phone and Belen pretended to read text messages; she was acutely aware of his presence beside her and more than anything how he too seemed to avoid further conversations. Belen did not know what that meant. What she did know was however, she was glad that things were turning out this way. If they spoke more, if they bonded even further, this goodbye would be even more difficult for her to handle.

About half an hour later, Belen’s manager called her to inform her that the van had arrived. She felt a heavy weight in her heart upon hearing that. Although they haven’t spoken a word to each other since that morning, Belen wasn’t quite ready to let him go.

But she had to. It was the moment that this strange, magical encounter had to end.

“SungGyu-Ssi” Belen called him softly as she put her phone away. “Your van has arrived”

The words felt sore in her mouth as she spoke. Sung Gyu nodded and slid his own phone into his pocket. Then he looked over at her. “Do we need to go now?”

“Yeah” Belen sighed. “You can have the bags loaded and prepared by the time your manager arrives”

“True” Sung Gyu agreed.

Then they both fell into a moment of awkward silence. In that moment of silence, Belen contemplated what she could tell him. After all they’ve done together, it wasn’t right to let him go without saying goodbye. But how could she say goodbye when she knew it so well that there will never be a ‘See you again?’

She fidgeted with her hands, not stealing even a slightest glance at him. She wondered what he was thinking, what his silence meant, she wondered, although there stood no chance, but she wondered if Sung Gyu too felt the same. 

Their silence became unbearable when they were quiet for too long. Her phone rang a couple of times, message after message lined up in her inbox and one of them was that Sung Gyu’s van was waiting in the parking lot. Sung Gyu really had to go. And perhaps, he knew this too, that the moment Belen finally spoke, so did he, their words colliding with one another. And they laughed.

“You go ahead,” Belen said.

“No you go ahead first” Sung Gyu replied. 

“No I think you should”

“No you had something to say”

They fell quiet again, and when Belen met his eyes, he playfully snorted which soon morphed into a laughter. Sung Gyu was back to himself again.

“We can do this forever but we don’t really have the time” He said and turned to her. “So I’ll go first”

Belen nodded, feeling a heavy weight in her heart. “Okay”

Sung gyu took a few seconds to compose his thoughts, and when he spoke to her, he sounded more professional, more like an idol than he’d been throughout their time together, which left her a flicker of sadness that she couldn’t explain. 

“I just wanted to tell you...Thank you for being my manager for a day. I wouldn’t have managed myself without you, sadly. And you’ve been a great help for me...the whole time, promptly doing whatever you could to support me and I didn’t even miss my manager while I had you”

Belen swallowed her pain and responded with a laugh. “Your manager wouldn’t be happy if he heard that”

He smiled. “Which is why it’s going to stay with the pile of secrets which we take to our grave”

Belen couldn’t help the smile forming on her lips. He remembered. 

“Speaking of which,” Belen turned to him, now taking over a grave, professional stance herself. “I’ve committed more than one crime for the past few hours so I hope everything we did really would be taken to our graves”

Sung Gyu just snorted, his eyes turning into crescent moons. “Noted” He nodded deteminedly. “Whatever happened in Manila, stays in Manila”

“That’s not even how it goes but-,” She laughed.

“If you keep my secrets, including when my grandma’s dog bit me, I will swear to keep yours” Sung Gyu said.

“Okay deal” Belen laughed, holding out a hand.

“Deal” Sung Gyu replied.

Their farewell conversation pretty much drifted away at that moment as both Belen and Sung Gyu got calls on their respective phones. Sung Gyu’s manager had arrived and was heading on his way to the exit and Belen’s manager wanted her to immediately take Sung Gyu to his van and ‘just what the hell are you doing with him, Torres?’ Belen knew, at that point, that their encounter really had to end.

Belen wanted to hug him at least, wish him the best of luck and promise him to be there at the fan meeting on sunday. But time was just not allowing her too. She had to drive the car to where his van was parked, which they found easily, and she stood on a side as the driver who was sent from her company loaded Sung Gyu’s bags inside. Afterwards, she had to speak to the driver to clarify the rest of his tasks as she was supposed to admin the logistics throughout their stay. Once all was done, with warm eyes and a heavy heart, Belen stood with her back to her car as the van drove away. Sung Gyu appeared so happy and bright, like sunshine, even as he waved at her with both his hands, allowing her to see him so up close, perhaps for the very last time.

And just like that, Belen Torres’s life, yet again, came to a stand still. It lost its colors, it became dull again. The happy memories from the past few hours remained hidden in a corner of her heart along with all the secrets that she’d promised him to take with her to her grave.


	6. Chapter 6

_**If Belen was**_ to describe her life in the way you had to describe pictures english tests, she would say that it was sad, it was monotonous, it was colourless, like a black and white painting. It always consisted of the same and the same things. She woke up in the morning, had her coffee, had her rice, went to work, listened to Faye and her endless stories as she filled herself with more rice during lunch, had coffee and snacks with Faye listening to more of her stories, tried not to fall asleep during meetings with her manager, clock out from work, buy groceries, go home to her empty flat, have dinner and go to sleep. There would be a few changes to her routine then and there when they had big events to attend to, but they were more of work and less of what she could actually enjoy. They almost always consisted of her walking around on painful feet with her ears ringing after wearing a headset for too long, giving order after order to conduct a perfectly executed event. She wouldn’t even get credit for her hard work after the end of it all. Her manager would. But still she’d get a hefty paycheck which she’d spend on things that she didn’t even need, and so her life would continue; dull, monotonous and colorless.

And for the most part of her life, Belen was fine with it. She was fine with her dull life as long as she hadn’t much to worry about, as long as she had a plan and a routine and everything was exactly as she wanted them to be. Her life was much simpler that way. Much easier. But then…

But then Kim Sung Gyu rolled into her life just like the storm on the day they met, and now her life was in a complete whirlwind. It just would never be the same again.

That afternoon, Belen decided to take some time off and contemplate her life. Her manager, of course, allowed her to as she worked the previous day, even during a storm, when the rest of her company didn’t. During her time off, Belen did not return home. Instead, she decided to walk.

She had lunch first and a stroll in the city, walking along with the swarm of people that had gathered for a relaxing time in the brief window of good weather. She passed through the old town, mindlessly gazing at the ancient buildings and high walls, the mingle of the busy city making the present collide with the past. She sat down on a bench outside the cathedral after hours of walking and instantly regretted it; there was a newly married couple outside, exiting the church as their families gathered around, welcoming them into their new life. Love, marriage, happiness, everything that Belen wouldn’t have in her life.

It was at times like this that Belen could really do with Sung Gyu’s boundless optimism. It was unexpected from him, really; coming from someone who probably had gone through so much to become who he was. Despite how he always appeared to be cheerful and happy, Sung Gyu seemed to be someone who effortlessly recognised and understood pain. And to be able to do so, one need to have gone through similar pain, shouldn’t they? If he understood that Belen needed comfort in a moment that she feared and also that she didn’t want to really talk about it, He should have experienced something similar. Even still, how could he be so optimistic? So happy?

Perhaps that was what Belen needed in her life too. She didn’t know what it was that made Sung Gyu, Sung Gyu. But whatever it was, she needed to nurture that within her too. Belen needed that optimism. Belen needed that happiness. Although she was convinced she hadn’t the source to receive that from, perhaps it's time that she found it herself.

The walk around the city, in the end, did no good for her. She needed distraction, something to put her mind into so that she wouldn’t unnecessarily overthink anymore. So in the end, she called her manager again and offered to come into work.

And that was how she ended up going to Infinite’s fan meeting venue and busied herself for the entire day. Work helped. Work always helped. At least keeping to her routine helped her to keep her emotions at bay.

Sunday evening was the day for Infinite’s fan meeting. Belen was familiar with the swarms of young girls that came to events like this. It wasn’t her first time. There were so many of them, with fans and banners and whatnot with faces of the band members plastered across them. Belen was mostly backstage, coordinating things with her colleagues to make sure the event runs smoothly. There weren’t many things that Belen was good at, but doing her job right was still one of them.

As tiring as it was, Belen loved what she was doing. Her natural tendency to keep things organized really came in handy in occasions like this. Her part was to keep everything in check; were things going according to the agenda? have the performers come in on time? were they given their necessities? and if their well being and safety looked in during the time of the concert? She was often found running around, hurried on her feet with a headset on, barking her orders left and right. It was at times like this that she really became herself, and her subordinates were actually terrified of how efficient she could be.

The fan meeting started at six, so before that she’d sent someone to check upon how well the idols were doing. No matter how badly affected she was after her last encounter with Sung Gyu, she couldn’t allow that to get on her way with work. Compartmentalising. That’s what she did the most on that night. She compartmentalised her feelings, put them into little boxes and stored them away in little drawers of her heart to never retrieve again.

And it was fine, because Belen didn’t see him again for the most part of the evening, and even when she did, it was from afar. She did, however, see all seven of them, dressed up so nicely in dark suits which really appealed to their tall and lean stature. Belen didn’t see most of the performance as, for the most part she was all over the place. She was there, however, when Sung Gyu had to sing on his own.

And that, somehow, was the moment that she really lost her composure.

Belen has seen a lot of beautiful things in her life. Cathedrals in the old town, the sunset from Manila bay, flowers of different colors, the cheerful smiles of a child. But at that moment nothing could match to how breathtaking Kim Sung Gyu appeared to be on the stage. For a moment, Belen couldn’t believe that it was the same Sung Gyu that she’d gotten to know, the quirky adorable Sung gyu with smiling eyes and an ample optimism to save the world. It wasn’t the Sung Gyu that she knew whom she witnessed on the stage, as if he’d become a different person altogether in the same shape and same form, shining brighter than ever before. He was singing, his voice echoing throughout the massive hall as, perhaps, the entire audience held their breath. In contrast to all the pieces of music that she’d heard in the concert so far, what Sung Gyu sang was slow, soulful, the kind of music that could make the time stop and yet let the world breath again. It wasn’t helping how the light was directed upon him, making him shine like the moon and the stars and the entire universe that he was. His blond hair emanated a silvery shine, making him appear ethereal. Sung Gyu was ethereal. Belen hadn’t seen or heard anyone more beautiful before.

And at the end of his song, she realised she had forgotten to breathe. Perhaps, her eyes were warm, her heart had lost pace. Perhaps, Belen had fallen even deeper in love.

She couldn’t be more glad when the Sung Gyu finally left the stage.

After then, however, she couldn’t quite focus on work, for the first time in her life. She almost missed a cue call and forgot to send in the water boy to serve the band. At some point their sound went a little bad which she didn’t even notice, and towards the end of the concert Belen found herself at the entrance to the stage, watching the boys bidding farewell to the massive crowd, their silhouettes moving about through the glimmering confetti rain.

Then it was over. All over. Days and hours of their hard work had paid off and they’ve come to this point. It was over.

“Good job everyone!” Her manager’s voice echoed in her headset as the last bit of the last song played on. “Let’s huddle up and celebrate later...but first, please make sure our lovely ladies and gentlemen leave the hall in one piece”

Belen directed her people to take over the entrances to make sure everyone left the hall safely. Infinite, meanwhile, had returned to their respective dressing rooms. The whole team will meet their team from Korea after this to thank and congratulate everyone, their manager said they’d prepared some gift packages or whatever that they could bring back with them. Now that it was all over, it didn’t feel any different from their previous events. Their people would clean up and gather things, and later they would all go out to drink and party together. Faye would probably sing all her kpop songs on the top of her lungs while the others politely tolerated her. It would be just another regular work night.

“Belen!” Speaking of whom, Faye was currently running across the empty stage towards her, the widest smile on her lips. “Oh my god, Belen, did you see them? Did you see my boys?”

Except for Sung Gyu, Belen really hadn’t seen much of them. Faye most certainly did. She’d been fussing around them for no reason appearing miraculously composed to be around her favorite people.

“Yeah, they were fine” Belen merely shrugged her off. Never in her life would she admit the truth to her, that she was, infact, captivated by their performance, by one in particular.

“Fine?” She echoed as if Belen had just admitted to mass murder. “Just fine!?! Belen! They were brilliant! They were perfect! They were just...they were just the best!” She threw her hands as if she was throwing imaginary confetti.

Trust Faye to be totally over dramatic even in the simplest things.

Belen just hummed as she gathered her documents in her arms. “By the way, did boss tell you anything about those gift packages or something?”

“Those to the Korean team?”

Belen nodded.

“Did he say who would distribute them? Is it you?” Faye hopped nervously on her feet.

“No and no”

“Nice! I’m going to take over” She said as if she couldn’t do anything better with herself. “Would you be there for drinks tonight?”

Belen would very much like to go home and sleep. But she also knew that she probably wouldn’t unless she killed off her thoughts with a bunch of strong shots. “Yes” She said.

“Great!” Faye jumped once more. “Well then, I will see you tonight!”

She didn’t even wait for Faye to respond before she hurriedly skipped away.

For the next few minutes, Belen busied herself with doing her own things. Her work was done for the day and perhaps for a few more weeks until their next big project would come about. For now they’d get much smaller pitches, like an occasional exhibition or a rally or a charity event which did not take much time or commitment. For tonight, she could let herself lose and relax, and finally put her mind at peace.

But as always the world was conspiring against her, it never let her be in peace. Belen was surprised to hear yet another crackle in her ear piece, and initially Belen thought it was her boss asking her to come through to distribute the gifts which Belen would really like to pass on. It was his manager, alright. But the request that he did make was not what he expected.

“Torres” Her manager called, his voice a little too loud in her ears. “Kim Sung Gyu said he wanted to meet you”

It was simply natural, the way her heart picked up pace upon the mention of his name.

“He did?” She muttered uncertainly.

“Yes. Said he wanted to thank you or something”

“Oh” She couldn’t say another word as her world started to spin around her. There were so many questions floating in her brain, so many worries and more than anything, so many reasons why she wanted to see him again. Out of all of them, one stood out.

“Looks like you’d really impressed him” Her manager said.

“What-?”

“He said he’d come up,” Her manager continued. “You’re still back stage right?”

“Yeah” She replied almost dazedly.

“Good” He replied. “Just stay there” And it went quiet on the other end.

Belen then stood frozen on the spot for about five minutes, trying to gather her thoughts and trying to make sense of his words. He couldn’t have been right. She probably didn’t hear him properly. Belen was inclined to talk to him again, clarify everything that he said. But then...she didn’t have to.

“So you really didn’t move” Said a voice from behind her, a voice so awfully familiar, and Belen just closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. This could not be real. He could not have come searching for her.

“Your manager said you would be here” He continued, sounding much closer now, and he laughed. “He said you wouldn’t even move and I didn’t think he would be right”

Belen took yet another deep breath, opened her eyes and turned to face him, trying to be as nonchalant as she could.

“Hi, um…” She gave him an awkward smile. “What are you doing here?”

“Oh nothing” he shook his hand dismissively. “Just checking out how backstage works…” And then, in an enigmatic moment, he met her eyes. “And just wanted to see who made backstage work”

They fell quiet after that, and Sung Gyu held her gaze for the longest time. Belen couldn’t seem to take her eyes off him. He was so different from the Sung Gyu that she knew in his too large sweaters and baby blue pajamas. The Sung Gyu that she saw now was in a crisp white shirt and a checkered jacket and jeans ensemble, the almond shape of his eyes made prominent by a dark outline. It looked wonderful in contrast to his silvery blond hair, and when he smiled, he reminded her of stars, of millions of them. Perhaps Faye was right. They were celebrities for a reason. They were just so...beautiful. Sung Gyu was just so beautiful.

“I would have brought the kids along with me” Sung Gyu put in to break their silence. “But they have their own things to do…”

“Don’t you?” Belen asked him.

“Don’t I what?”

“Have your own things to do?”

Sung Gyu gave her a smile so disarming that Belen thought her heart stopped for a while. He took a step towards her. “That is what I’m doing,” he said.

They fell quiet yet again, and Sung Gyu gazed at her in a way that made her feel extremely self conscious.

“We walked around the city yesterday,” He suddenly told her. “We went to this park...I don’t remember what you call it but there were ancient buildings and a nice little boulevard-,”

“Fort Santiago” Belen told him. The description was so familiar for her, for she had been there so many times.

“I guess that’s what it’s called” He laughed. “And we saw the sunset and we had all kinds of street food-,”

“Sounds like you’ve had a great time”

“Hm” Sung Gyu nodded in agreement. He pursed his lips into a thin line, and when he glanced up at her, his eyes were shining. There were so many things hidden in the depth of them, so many things that he seemed not to word out. Belen held her breath; she did not like how he was making her feel.

“Strangely” He said, still gazing at her. “The whole time, I was thinking about you”

“Oh” Was all she could say, and his words started to float around her as she tried to make sense of what he meant. What was that supposed to mean? What was he trying to say?

“We had Banana Cues again” He continued, his voice growing more tender. “It tasted the same; Banana Cues are Banana cues after all”

She wanted to laugh, but she couldn’t.

“But weirdly, the one that I had with you that night...it was still the best”

Belen, frankly, did not like where the conversation was going. Which was seemingly nowhere..

“And we finally went to the hotel we booked. We didn’t have to fight anyone” He laughed enjoying himself. “Or ruin their garden or forge the documents…they didn’t even have bunk beds and I had one whole room for myself. They also had slippers that were brand new. Straight out of packaging”

“That sounds great,” Belen replied thickly, still unable to understand what he was trying to tell her.

But she didn’t have to think too far, for he then proceeded to explain everything himself.

“I know these are just ordinary things….but I guess what I am trying to tell you is, with you, I had one of the best nights of my life. Because of you I can’t think of slippers or bunk beds or Banana cues the same anymore, because all of these remind me of you”

Belen opened her mouth and closed it again, for she didn’t know what to say. She wanted to admit that she felt the same, that one night with him had perhaps changed her whole life. But she knew better not to, she knew that once her words were out in the open, it will solidify this, it will make things real, it will give her hopes on something that was never meant to be. She wished she could be honest and fearless as Sung Gyu seemed to be. But Belen wasn’t Sung Gyu. Belen hadn’t the boldness and sincerity that he seemed to carry with him all the time. The truth would hurt her, being bold would haunt her forever. So Belen remained to stay quiet, yet her eyes did not once move away from him.

“I know it isn’t the right thing to do,” Sung Gyu went on, his voice firm and sincere as if he’d read her mind. “But you know, there are some things that are wrong...very, very wrong...but feels like the right thing to do. Strange, isn’t it? Have you ever felt that way?”

Belen swallowed hard. If she was to be honest, that was what she had felt the whole time that she’d been with him.

“That’s how I feel, myself, I guess. And that is what I want to do. I want to do the wrong thing that feels right to do”

There was a moment of silence, and Belen looked up only to see that he had moved closer to her. Belen held her breath, for she didn’t know what more she could do.

And then, without warning, he said it, the words that Belen had perhaps been so desperate and equally terrified to hear from anyone in her entire life.

“I know you probably hate to hear this and I know that it's wrong to tell you this too” He told her as he held her gaze. “But this is probably the last time we’d meet. We would go our separate ways after this, we would never meet again, at least not in similar circumstances. That’s just how our lives would be. But I know, If I didn’t tell you this now, I would be thinking about this for a very very long time until it dies somewhere in my heart” He placed a hand on his chest. “And I don’t want that to happen. I want to tell this to you and lay it out there before I go”

“What-,” She breathed, feeling warm in her eyes. “What are you talking about?”

“Belen Torres” He called her name for the very first time. “I like you”

No. Belen wanted to tell him, shout in his ears so he would understand. You cannot do that to me. But on the other hand, he was right. Hearing the very words coming from him made something blossom in her heart. It was painful, but still it was beautiful. It made her hopeful, yes. It made her indescribably sad too. But sometimes, it was enough to be told she was loved even once in her life although she couldn’t hear it nor indulge it for the rest of her life. Belen’s heart was warm. So were her eyes. She was happy. Sung Gyu’s words made her happy.

And she didn’t hold back at that point, for he had also made her stronger.

“So do I” Belen told him in response. She didn’t want to say the word. She didn’t have the heart to. Nonetheless, what she did say seemed to have passed the message through.

Sung Gyu nodded, gazed at her for even longer as the rest of the world passed by, leaving them behind. He raised his head heavenwards then, and stared at the dark high roof above them, at the blinking stage lights and tangles of wires for a long time. He covered his mouth with his hand, and chrome rings started to glimmer vigorously against his pale skin.

He took so long before he finally met her eyes.

“We can’t do anything about it, can we?”

Belen let out a deep breath; with happiness, with relief, with a flicker of sadness, she accepted the truth.

“We can’t”

Sung Gyu gave her sad, disarming smile. “You understand me”

“I have to”

Sung Gyu nodded again and lifted his hand. He played with the rings on his fingers for a moment, his eyes focused on them. A second later, he took long strides towards her.

“There isn’t much that I could give you-,” He started softly.

“I know…”

“-but…” He looked at her and smiled. “There is little that I could”

He removed a thin silver ring from his hand and held it out before her; it shined so brightly when it caught the light above. All Belen could do at that moment was hold her breath.

“No…”

Sung Gyu laughed. “This isn’t much but…”

He met her eyes. “This is the ‘Inspire-ring’” He said, gesturing with his hands for emphasis. “This is still a prototype that we haven’t released yet...so there’s only a very few. I just got mine from my manager...and I…”

He pursed his lips, and as Belen stared at him, her heart beating so hard in her throat, he took her hand gingerly. She held her breath as he slipped the ring onto her finger. His own danced tenderly along hers.

“I hope you like it”

If it was Belen two hours ago, she wouldn’t believe for the life of her that Kim Sung Gyu would come through the shadows backstage and put a ring on her hand. She still didn’t believe it. Perhaps, she was still in her dreams. Perhaps it was how Faye felt like in her odd dreams with Jungkook and perhaps it's time that Belen woke up and told Faye her strange dream too.

“Well?” Sung Gyu prompted on, and she didn’t even realise that she hadn’t replied.

“Oh...oh I-I do...like it” She nodded vigorously, which made him laugh.

“Now, you can’t tell anyone I gave you this…” He told her quietly. “My manager and my boss will murder me because its meant to be a secret”

And in response, she placed a hand on her heart. “What happens in Manila stays in Manila. I will take it to my grave”

Sung Gyu broke out in laughter upon this, and Belen couldn’t help but join in with him. As much as she thought she loved him, he also at times felt like the best friend she desperately wanted. The best friend with their own little jokes and secrets, best friends who could stay up on rainy nights talking about aliens and overthrowing governments, best friends who found comfort even in the silence between them. Had they met in different circumstances as different people, Belen wondered what their lives could be. She wondered about how they could have laughed and cried and lost themselves in raging storms, how they could have held hands and loved without restrictions. Their lives wouldn’t have been so different then. And this happiness that she felt right now wouldn’t have been as painful as it did.

“Ah...I will miss you” Sung Gyu told her as their laughter died down. “It’s weird, we haven’t known for too long, but I will miss you”

Belen’s heart filled with warmth. She didn’t think she’d had anyone speak so sincerely to her that it just felt so unreal.

“Me too…” Belen replied. She’d decided to never hold back anymore. “I will miss you too”

Sung Gyu nodded and looked at her with his head tilted to a side. “I wish we had even longer”

“Me too…” She nodded vigorously. “I wish so too”

They were running out of words to say, which only meant that they were nearing their moment of final goodbyes. They were quiet for a long time, searching for words until a crackle and a voice came from Belen’s headpiece.

“Torres” Barked her Manager in her ear . “What the hell have you done with Kim Sung Gyu?”

Belen immediately muted it and turned to Sung Gyu as her heart shattered into pieces. This is it. It seemed to tell her. This is the end.

“They’re looking for you,” Belen told him.

“I hope they thought you kidnapped me”

Belen laughed. So did Sung Gyu before he took a step towards her, and then another. “Do you mind if I...er, hugged you?” He asked shily, politely.

Belen would want nothing more.

“I’d...I’d love that,” She told him.

And so with the most brilliant smile, Sung Gyu moved forward and held her in his comforting embrace. Belen wasn’t the tallest; she hardly reached his shoulder. But it felt nice to be engulfed in the whole of him. He smelt intoxicating, the familiar citrusy expensive cologne filled her breath. And he was warm; so warm. She could hear his heart beating beneath her. Belen closed her eyes tight and wished they could stay like forever. It took everything from her not to break into tears.

“Belen Torres?” He called her in her full name again, making her laugh into his chest.

“I hope you don’t hate me for telling you the truth,” He said.

Belen shook her head.

“What I thought was…” He continued, still holding her, and she felt his hand on the back of her head, caressing her. “Maybe if I told you, you wouldn’t put yourself down so much like you do now, that you’d remember that somebody still liked you for who you are for the rest of your life”

“That’s such a nice thing to say” She muttered.

“And they should tell you that more often,” He said. “Even if we don’t get to be with each other” He continued quietly as he kept caressing her head. “I hope this stays with you for a very long time”

Belen stayed quiet, her arms cautiously remaining around him. He moved away so slowly afterwards, and he looked down at her as he retrieved his hands. It would end now, she realised; this strange encounter, their short lived love for each other. But the way it did end couldn’t have been more perfect. Belen had more things to be happy about, more memories to cherish than any other relationship she’d ever had.

She looked up at Sung Gyu who was gazing into her eyes. Then he smiled.

“Belen Torres”

“Hm?”

“Live a good life” He said, “Live the best life”

If Belen Torres told herself from a month ago that a storm would roll in and completely change the way that she looked at life, she would never have believed her. In fact, Belen Torres would smack her alternative self from the future on their head and tell them to be real, that she was completely happy how she was. But when she thought of it now, things happened when you never expected them to, and people changed in ways that they never thought they would. And that’s what happened with Belen Torres and her once monotonous, colorless life. Once, she drove into a raging storm, fell in love, and that finally made her happy and brought color into her life.

About a month after her last encounter with Kim Sung Gyu, Belen sat in her work station, happily going through the concert goods that had just been put out on sale. She didn’t know how to purchase those as they were to be sold at the concert venue which she couldn’t attend to for a very good reason. But at least she had one of them in her possession already.

Faye hadn’t come to work yet, and her bureau was in a complete mess. A week ago she claimed to have gotten another bias, Belen couldn’t recall whom as she’d gotten so many. And today she claimed to call in sick and excused herself to come in late. But Belen knew what her reason was. Her newest ‘20 cm doll’ of her newest bias was coming in on post.

It was the loud, soundly gasp in the likes of someone nearing their death that finally indicated Faye’s arrival. Belen turned around, only to witness Faye covering her face with both her hands. Her doll had arrived and it was sitting in her bag, its big head sticking out. But that evidently wasn’t what Faye was being dramatic about.

“Oh my god, Belen!” She screamed and pointed at Belen’s neat and clean workstation. “What the hell is Kim Sung Gyu doing on your table!?!”

Belen glanced at the plastic standee and the 2020 Kim Sung Gyu calendar that was standing on her desk. The calendar came in a little too late for the year. But at least the year wasn’t over. She’d gotten it through this funny little thing that Kim Sung gyu fans from her country did. It was making a group order for all from their country who wished to buy particular fan goods. There were so many fan clubs for him under different names. Belen couldn’t remember what she got hers from; but these goods were definitely fancy and in very good quality. She had absolutely no regrets. The only regret she did have, however, was that now she and Faye would have something in common and she wouldn’t even get to complain when Faye dumped her stuff on her table.

“I just got it” Belen shrugged off and turned back to her computer. She was just about to minimise the tab that was open on the screen when yet another loud scream erupted from behind her.

“Belen Torres, is that Kim Sung gyu’s first concert official merchandise that you were looking at?!?”

Belen quickly shut her laptop close and turned to her friend. “Faye can you please be quiet?” She replied, her cheeks flaming in embarrassment. She felt like she’d been looking at inappropriate things during work hours. She really hated Faye at times like this.

“I would, if you explain to me what is going on with you” Faye dumped her bags and dragged her chair to her.

“Nothing,” Belen groaned. “Just leave me alone”

“Something happened when you met Kim Sung Gyu, isn’t it?”

Belen felt hot flames rising around her. “No,”

“What do you mean no? You’ve been all weird since then. You’ve had his entire playlist on your phone and-,”

“Faye, have you been spying on me?” Belen gasped.

“No!” Stammered her friend. “I just saw it, okay? Anyway, what is up with you. I thought you hated kpop boys, I thought you hated men! Now why are you stealing my men?”

“Who said they were your men?” Belen threw her a sharp look.

Faye frowned at her suspiciously. Belen let out a heavy sigh and finally turned to her. “I just became a fan, okay? I am a fan. I still hate all the kpop boys, I still hate all the men in the entire world-,”

Faye raised her brows.

“But Infinite and Kim Sung Gyu will be the only exception” She said.

Faye stared at her for the longest time, scrutinizing her in this terribly annoying way. “Okay, I’ll believe you” she said, in the end, dropping the act. “You’re too obsessed with work and shit to let anything happen so I believe you” She said.

“Right” She nodded with a sigh of relief. “Thanks”

“Don’t mention it,” Faye said dismissively. Then she leaned forward with the brightest, most exhilarated smile she could ever make. Belen thanked god for making Faye a little slow in her brain. Even more, for making her kpop obsession matter a lot more than her best friend’s secretive private life.

“So, Belen Torres” She started, her voice in the likes of a TV presenter. “Welcome to the fandom! Who is your Bias? Is Kim Sung Gyu your bias? Mine is Hoya. I like Kim Sung Gyu too but Hoya…” A squeal. “Heart eyes! He’s so hot and…”

Like that, Belen and Faye fell into their normal routine again. Faye told her stories, Belen listened. Belen continued to hate kpop groups, she continued to say this around Faye who, without fail became angry every instance. But her one exception remained the same. Kim Sung Gyu, at that point, was still more than just a bias for her. He was still a lot more than a memory or a one time fling. Kim Sung Gyu became her obsession, her strength and her weakness. He became the light of her life when nobody else could give it color, he became her inspiration and her motivation; but above all, he still remained to be that one big secret Belen would carry on to her grave.


End file.
